Ultrasound

An ultrasound is a type of imaging tool used by doctors to inspect the inner structures of animals.  The ultrasound has a series of probes called transducers.  Each transducer produces a different frequency of sound that can penetrate the body.  In turn, the sound echoes off of the organs creating a clear view of whats going on inside.  Depending on the type of tissue the sound is echoing off of, the image on the screen differs.  If more echoes are returning to the transducer, the brighter the object will be on the screen. 

Ultrasounds are excellent tools for doctors who want to get an interactive or 'moving' picture of what is inside of the body.  If an organ or tissue is not functioning properly, a radiologist can see that in an ultrasound. 

On the ultrasound machine used at the practice I work at, there are four different probes, each of which send out different wavelengths of sound.  Gel is rubbed onto the skin of the patient to help the sound waves penetrate the body without getting distorted by stray hairs or the skin itself. 

The images that the ultrasounds give us is one that can look, to most people, like a bunch of shadows and masses.  However, to a trained radiologist, the ultrasound gives a 3-D image of what is going on inside of the body.  One of the key parts of using an ultrasound is understanding the aatomy of the patient.  A radiologist must be able to place the probe on the body and know which organs would be expected to see in that location.  They also need to understand anatomy based on how deep they are looking in the body.  Depending on the probe and the how hard they push onto the body will expose different parts of the body.