Using a computerized ultrasound system, 63 autopsied livers were examined. A quantitative description of the ultrasound image was made by using statistical parameters from pattern recognition algorithms. As a reference a chemical/morphometrical classification into normal, diffuse and regional fatty infiltration and fibrosis/cirrhosis was performed. Diagnostic accuracy varied from 77% to 92%. Ultrasound tissue characterisation showed an influence of fatty and connective tissue structures on image parameters. This supplies evidence for the fact that computerised ultrasound examination yields more information from the ultrasound image than the normal observer. This may be the cause of an increased diagnostic accuracy when using computerized ultrasound systems, especially in the case of fibrosis/cirrhosis.