Diagnostic ultrasound, also called sonography or diagnostic medical sonography, is an imaging method that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures within your body. The images can provide valuable information for diagnosing and treating a variety of diseases and conditions.

Preparations  for ultrasound sonography test Abdomen & pelvis. It is important to drink a lot of water  before the test since the body must absorb the water..

A fetal ultrasound is an imaging technique that uses sound waves to produce images of a fetus in the uterus. Fetal ultrasound images can help your health care provider evaluate your baby’s growth and development and monitor your pregnancy

This ultrasound is usually done in the first trimester, between 6 and 10 weeks of pregnancy, to help date your pregnancy, and estimate your baby’s due date. It can also confirm how many babies you are carrying, check that your baby is growing well in your womb, and is not ectopic (outside the uterus).

An ultrasound probe moves across the skin of your midsection (belly) area. Abdominal ultrasound can diagnose many causes of abdominal pain.

Providers use kidney ultrasound to assess the size, location and shape of your kidneys and related structures, such as your ureters and bladder. Ultrasound can detect cysts, tumors, obstructions or infections within or around your kidneys.

A breast ultrasound is a noninvasive test to identify breast lumps and cysts. Your provider may recommend an ultrasound after an abnormal mammogram.

This is a special ultrasound technique that assesses the movement of materials, like blood, in your body. It allows your provider to see and evaluate blood flow through arteries and veins in your body. Doppler ultrasound is often used as part of a diagnostic ultrasound study or as part of a vascular ultrasound.

Your provider inserts a probe into your vaginal canal. It shows reproductive tissues such as your uterus or ovaries. A transvaginal ultrasound is sometimes called a pelvic ultrasound because it evaluates structures inside your pelvis (hip bones).

Providers use ultrasound to assess your thyroid, a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland in your neck. Providers can measure the size of your thyroid and see if there are nodules or lesions within the gland.

• Abnormal growths, such as tumors or cancer.
• Blood clots.
• Enlarged spleen.
• Ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized egg implants outside of your uterus).
• Gallstones.
• Aortic aneurysm.
• Kidney or bladder stones.
• Cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation).
• Varicocele (enlarged veins in the testicles).