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- What is the test?
- How do I prepare for the test?
- What happens when the test is performed?
- What risks are there from the test?
- Must I do anything special after the test is over?
- How long is it before the result of the test is known?
What is the test?
Ultrasound uses sound waves instead of radiation to generate snapshots or moving pictures of structures inside the body. This imaging technique works in a manner similar to radar and sonar, developed in World War II to detect airplanes, missiles, and submarines that were otherwise invisible. After coating your skin with a lubricant to reduce friction, a radiologist or ultrasound technician places an ultrasound transducer, which looks like a microphone, on your skin and may rub it back and forth to get the right view. The transducer sends sound waves into your body and picks up the echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off internal organs and tissue. A computer transforms these echoes into an image that is displayed on a monitor.
A breast ultrasound can indicate whether a breast lump is caused by a fluid-filled cyst or a solid mass, such as cancer.
How do I prepare for the test?
No preparation is necessary.
What happens when the test is performed?
As you lie on your back on a table, a technician or doctor squirts some clear jelly onto your skin to help the ultrasound sensor slide around easily and places the sensor against your skin. An image of your abdominal organs appears on a video screen, and the technician or doctor moves the sensor back and forth on the area of your breast that is being examined to see the tissue inside from many different views.
What risks are there from the test?
There are no risks.
Must I do anything special after the test is over?
No.
How long is it before the result of the test is known?
As with abdominal ultrasound, this depends on whether a radiologist is able to read the image immediately. Usually a technician performs the test and is not able to provide any results.
