Abstract: A method and apparatus for the computerized automatic analysis of lesions in ultrasound images, including the computerized analysis of lesions in the breast, using gradient, gray-level, and texture based measures. Echogenicity features are developed to assess the characteristics of the lesions and in some cases give an estimate of the likelihood of malignancy or of prognosis. The output from the computerized analysis is used in making a diagnosis and/or prognosis. For example, with the analysis of the ultrasound images of the breast, the features can be used to either distinguish between malignant and benign lesions, or distinguish between (i.e., diagnosis) the types of benign lesions such as benign solid lesions (e.g., fibroadenoma), simple cysts, complex cysts, and benign cysts. The ultrasound image features can be merged with those from mammographic and/or magnetic resonance images of the same lesion for classification by means of a common artificial neural network.