Assessment of gastric emptying time by ultrasonography is increasingly used to evaluate gastroparesis. At first normal values have to be defined. In 20 healthy volunteers the upper value of half emptying time after a semisolid meal was 50 min. A good correlation of gastric emptying time evaluated by scintigraphy was found. Diabetics with autonomous neuropathy had a remarkable delay in gastric emptying, not seen in patients with functional dyspepsia. In dyspeptic patients pathologic width of the antrum (measured by planimetry after overnight fasting) decreased during therapy with cisapride in correlation to the improvement of symptoms.