Sign Up Now For HEALTHbeat Our FREE E-mail Newsletter Sign up for our FREE email newsletter and receive a FREE report, Living to 100: What's the secret? You'll receive weekly briefings with health information you can trust from the doctors at Harvard Medical School. [ Close Window ]

• Harvard Health Publications • Order the Book • Contact Us

Sign up for our free e-mail newsletter, HEALTHbeat.   Email address:     Incontinence Weight Loss Prostate Disease Vitamins and Minerals Aching Hands See All Titles Common Medical Conditions Wellness & Prevention Emotional Well Being & Mental Health Women’s Health Men’s Health Heart & Circulatory Health   contact us		Abdominal Ultrasound 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? View other tests 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. Using an abdominal ultrasound, a doctor can detect gallstones, check the liver for cancers, examine the kidneys for cancers or for blockages in the flow of urine, measure the size of the spleen or the width of the aorta (the body’s largest artery), and look for fluid around the abdominal organs. Back to top > How do I prepare for the test? You must fast on the day of the test. Digesting food causes your intestines to fill with extra air, which reduces the resolution of the ultrasound image. Tell your doctor if you take insulin, because insulin can make your blood sugar drop after a period of fasting. Back to top > 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 lower abdomen 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 across your abdomen to see specific organs from different views. It’s helpful for you to mention any soreness during the test—for example, if you’re tender while the sensor pushes against a particular area, such as your gallbladder or appendix. Back to top > What risks are there from the test? There are no risks. Back to top > Must I do anything special after the test is over? No. Back to top > How long is it before the result of the test is known? If your doctor performs the ultrasound, you may get preliminary results immediately. In many cases, though, the test is performed by a technician who won’t be able to provide any results. In either case, the test is recorded on videotape so that it can be reviewed later by a radiologist.Your doctor should have the radiologist’s report in one to four days, and can provide you with complete results then. Back to top > View other tests
		Click to enlarge Medical Tests: A Practical Guide to Common Tests Are you the type of person who panics when sent for even the most routine medical test? Medical Tests: A Practical Guide to Common Tests provides you with information about common screening and diagnostic medical tests so that you can breathe easier. You’ll learn why the test is needed, how to prepare for it, what happens during the test, and so much more. Now you can go in prepared!. Read more
		©2000–2006 President & Fellows of Harvard College

Close window