What is a sonogram?

A sonogram or ultrasonogram is an image obtained with an ultrasound machine, a simple, painless and noninvasive medical procedure, with no exposure to radiation, performed for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It is produced after the transducer of an ultrasound machine sends sound waves to the body area to be examined, and these are reflected by the tissues/organs and captured by a computer in the ultrasound scanner, which uses them to create an image.

There is a wide variety of types of ultrasonograms, including:

Vascular: used in angiology to diagnose venous and arterial diseases, such as thrombosis or stenosis, by assessing blood flow and vessel anatomy with the application of Doppler technology.

Echocardiogram: sonogram of the heart, using standard two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and Doppler ultrasound to create images of the heart, for diagnosis, management and follow-up of patients with heart conditions, thereby being a dynamic imaging technique.

Emergency medicine: it assesses emergent conditions such as cardiac tamponade or hemoperitoneum in critic patients, especially after trauma, which is defined as the Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) exam.

Obstetric: creates real-time visual images of the developing fetus in the mother’s uterus, this being a standard part of prenatal care in many countries.