Vaginal ultrasonography is a

medical ultrasonography Medical ultrasound includes Medical diagnosis, diagnostic techniques (mainly medical imaging, imaging) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic ultrasound, therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of ...

that applies an ultrasound transducer (or "probe") in the

vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

to visualize organs within the

pelvic cavity The pelvic cavity is a body cavity that is bounded by the bones of the pelvis. Its oblique roof is the pelvic inlet (the superior opening of the pelvis). Its lower boundary is the pelvic floor. The pelvic cavity primarily contains the reproduc ...

. It is also called transvaginal ultrasonography because the ultrasound waves go ''across'' the vaginal wall to study tissues beyond it.

Uses

Vaginal ultrasonography is used both as a means of gynecologic ultrasonography and

obstetric ultrasonography Obstetric ultrasonography, or prenatal ultrasound, is the use of medical ultrasonography in pregnancy, in which sound waves are used to create real-time visual images of the developing embryo or fetus in the uterus (womb). The procedure is a stand ...

. It is preferred over abdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy. It also can be used to evaluate patients with post-menopausal bleeding. The finding on transvaginal ultrasound of a thin endometrial lining gives the physician a 99% negative predictive value that the patient does not have endometrial cancer. If a patient had a prior endometrial sampling that was inconclusive, then a transvaginal ultrasound can be used to triage a woman with post-menopausal bleeding.

References

External links

* Diagnostic medical imaging Diagnostic obstetrics and gynaecology Medical ultrasonography {{med-imaging-stub

Uses

See also

References

External links