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US Orientation
US Orientation
Ultrasound transducers have a marker on one edge
By convention, the marker will always point towards the:
Transverse view: right side
Longitudinal view: patient's head (cranial)
US Terminology
US Terminology
Structures are described by their echogenicity, which correlates to how much the wave gets reflected back to the transducer
Echogenicity is relative, usually compared to other surrounding structures or the background organ
Anechoic (black)
Anechoic (black)
Waves transmit, no reflection (e.g. water in simple cyst)
Hypoechoic (darker)
Hypoechoic (darker)
Some reflection (e.g. liver metastasis)
Isoechoic (equal to reference)
Isoechoic (equal to reference)
Some reflection (e.g. liver focal nodular hyperplasia)
Hyperechoic (brighter)
Hyperechoic (brighter)
Some reflection (e.g. liver hemangioma)
Very hyperechoic (very bright)
Very hyperechoic (very bright)
All reflected (e.g. bone cortex, air)
US Artifacts to know
US Artifacts to know
Posterior acoustic enhancement
Posterior acoustic enhancement
Sound waves normally attenuate as they travel. The US machine will increase the brightness of the deeper tissues to compensate
A homogeneous structure (e.g. pure water) does not attenuate the sound as much as expected, so the area posteriorly will artifactually appear brighter as the US machine still applies compensation
Posterior acoustic shadowing
Posterior acoustic shadowing
Certain structures will absorb or reflect all the sound waves
The area posteriorly will artifactually appear dark as the US machine interprets this as the waves had travelled through, when in actuality they had already been accounted for
Try reviewing a normal abdominal US on PACSBIN
Try reviewing a normal abdominal US on PACSBIN
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