Ultrasound Terminology & Abbreviations

Ultrasound Terminology & Abbreviations

• Ultrasound Terminology: Study of ultrasound; includes various terms and abbreviations.

Ultrasound Root Words

• Ad-: Toward
• Ab-: Away from
• Adipo-: Fat
• Angio-: Blood vessel or lymph vessel
• A-, an-: Absent or deficient
• Ante-: Front
• Brachio-: Arm
• Cardi-, cardio-: Heart
• Dextra-: Right
• End-, Endo-: Within, inside
• Dys-: Difficult/painful
• Decub-: Side
• Eryth-: Red
• Ex-, Exo-: Out, outside of
• Hem-, hema-, hemo-, hemato-: Pertaining to blood
• Hemi-: Half
• Hepato-: Liver
• Homeo-, homo-: Same
• Hydra-, hydro-: Water
• Hyper-: Above; greater concentration
• Hypo-: Below; lesser concentration
• Hyster-: Uterus
• Infero-: Below
• Infra-: Below, under, inferior to, after
• Inter-: Between
• Intra-: Within
• Ipsi-: Same
• Juxta-: Close proximity
• Lipo-: Fat
• Mega, megalo: Large, of great size
• Meta-: Change
• Myo-: Muscle
• Necro-: Death, necrosis
• Neo-: New
• Nephro-: Kidney
• Oligo-: Few, small
• Omphalo-: Navel
• Oophor-: Ovary
• Orchi-: Testicle
• Peri-: Around
• Para-: Beside or beyond
• Phlebo-: Pertaining to vein or veins
• Pleur-: Rib
• Poly-: Many; too much
• Post-: Back; after
• Pre-: Before
• Pulmo-: Lungs
• Pseudo-: False
• Py-, pyo-: Pus
• Pyelo-: Pelvis
• Retro-: Backward, behind
• Sclero-: Hard
• Sebo-: Fatty substance
• Sub-: Under; below
• Super-, supra-: Over; above
• Thrombo-: Blood clot
• Trans-: Across; over; beyond; through
• Vaso-: Vessel
• Veno: Vein
• Vent-: Front
• Vesico-: Bladder

Mathematical Abbreviations

• >: Greater than
• ≥: Greater than or equal to
• =: Equal to
• +: Positive
• −: Negative
• <: Less than
• ≤: Less than or equal to

Medical Suffixes

• -algia: Pain
• -ase: Enzyme
• -asis, -esis, -iasis, -isis, -osis: Condition; pathologic state
• -cele: Tumor, swelling
• -centesis: Puncture
• -dia: Through
• -dynia: Pain
• -ectasis: Expansion
• -ectomy: Surgical removal
• -emia: Condition of the blood
• -genic: Origin
• -glycemia: Pertaining to blood sugar levels
• -itis: Inflammation
• -lith: Stone, calculous
• -poiesis, -poietic: Production, formation
• -stasis: Standing still, stable
• -pathy: Abnormality
• -ology: Study of
• -oma: Tumor
• -osis: Abnormal condition or process
• -uria: Urine
• -rhage, -rhagia: Rupture, bleed
• -tomy: Incision; cutting; study of structure involving removal of it
• -plasty: Surgical correction

Common Medical Abbreviations

• AAA: Abdominal aortic aneurysm
• Ao: Aorta
• ASAP: As soon as possible
• B-Mode: Brightness modulation
• BP: Blood pressure
• BPM: Beats per minute
• Bx: Biopsy
• C: With
• CBC: Complete blood count
• C: Celsius
• CCU: Critical Care Unit
• CCA: Common Carotid Artery
• CHD: Congenital Heart Disease
• CHF: Congestive Heart Failure
• cm: Centimeter
• COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• CT: Computed tomography
• CVA: Cerebrovascular accident
• dB: Decibel
• DM: Diabetes mellitus
• DVT: Deep venous thrombosis
• Dx: Diagnosis
• ECG: Electrocardiogram
• ER: Emergency Room
• F/U: Follow-up
• Fx: Function
• GI: Gastrointestinal
• gm; g: Gram
• HTN: Hypertension
• Hg: Mercury, commonly measured with BP in mmHg.
• Hx: History
• ICU: Intensive Care unit
• IV: Intravenous
• IVC: Inferior vena cava
• K: Potassium
• kg: Kilogram
• LE: Lower extremity
• LLQ: Left lower quadrant
• Lt: Left
• LUQ: Left upper quadrant
• MHz: Megahertz
• MI: Myocardial infarction
• ml: Milliliter
• mm: Millimeter
• M-Mode: Motion mode or time-motion mode
• MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging
• NICU: Neonatal intensive care unit
• NPO: Nothing by mouth
• OR: Operating room
• OZ: Ounce
• PE: Pleural effusion/ Pulmonary embolism
• Post-op: After surgery
• PP: Postpartum
• PPD: Test for tuberculosis
• Pre-op: Before surgery
• pt: Patient
• PTA: Prior to admission
• PTT: Prothrombin time
• PV: Portal vein
• qd: Every day
• qh: Every hour
• qid: Four times a day
• RBC: Red blood cell
• RI: Resistive index
• RLQ: Right lower quadrant
• Rt: Right
• R/O: Rule out
• RUQ: Right upper quadrant
• Rx: Treatment/Prescription
• s/p: Status post
• Stat: Immediately
• TCD: Transcranial Doppler
• TCG, TGC: Time compensated gain
• TIA: Transient Ischemic Attack
• Tx: Transplant or transducer
• UE: Upper extremity
• US: Ultrasound
• SVC: Superior vena cava
• PW: Pulse wave
• CW: Continuous wave
• CF: Color flow
• LPO: Left Posterior Oblique
• LLD: Left Lateral Decubitus
• RPO: Right Posterior Oblique
• RLD: Right Lateral Decubitus

Additional Ultrasound Terminology

• B Mode: Brightness Mode; ultrasound image displayed in gray scale.
• Gray Scale, B Mode: Brightness mode image in grayscale
• Transducer: Converts one form of energy into another; name of ultrasound probe.
• Piezoelectric crystals: Crystals producing an electrical charge when compressed or expanded.
• Attenuation: Loss of energy as a sound pulse travels through a medium.
• Frequency (MHz): Energy at which the ultrasound transducer is performing. Higher frequency = better detail, less penetration. Lower frequency = less detail, better penetration. Ultrasound: frequency of sound above 20 KHz.
• Hertz: Cycles per second
• Pulse wave: Crystals receive and transmit sound; alternating between listening and sending.
• Continuous wave: Two crystals: one receives constantly and one sends constantly.
• Duplex: Doppler and image
• Sweep: Overview of entire anatomy of interest in long and transverse.
• Echogenicity: What type of echo display (an/hypo/hyper-echoic).
• Anechoic/sonolucent: Without echoes; black; fluid filled structure.
• Hypoechoic: Low level echoes; grays; more solid structure.
• Echogenic/Hyperechoic: Bright intensity echoes; white; dense or strong reflector.
• Isoechoic/Homogenous: Same echogenicity as surrounding area; blends in; same echogenicity thru; smooth texture; uniform composition.
• Heterogeneous: Different echogenicities within; not smooth texture; not uniform in texture.
• Complex: Both solid and fluid components.
• Cystic: Fluid filled; usually anechoic appearance
• Noise: Artifact caused by echoes not being bounced directly back to transducer.
• Shadowing: Black area under a structure that could not be penetrated with the sound wave.
• Posterior Enhancement: Area brighter underneath a structure than surrounding tissue.
• Interface: Area between two adjacent structures; used to compare echogenicities.
• Gain: Amplification of returning echoes.
• TGC: Time Gain Compensation; amplification of echoes at specific depths
• Focus/Focal point: Area of best definition; where ultrasound beam is narrowest.
• Depth: How much time the machine listens for returning echoes.
• Superior: Above; top of; closer to the head
• Inferior: Below; bottom of; closer to the feet
• Proximal: Closer to the heart
• Distal: Farther away from the heart
• Anterior: Front of; on top of; closer to front surface
• Posterior: Back of; underneath; behind; closer to back surface
• Medial: Towards the midline
• Lateral: Towards the side; away from midline
• Sagittal: Longitudinal view; always displays head on left of screen
• Transverse: Cross-sectional view; axial; patient's right side is always on the left of the screen
• Coronal: Side view; scanning from the side
• Color Doppler: Directional color display of flow; going toward and away from the transducer
• Spectral Doppler: Spectral display of frequencies along a timeline, going toward and away from the transducer.
• Doppler shift: How ultrasound figures out velocity and direction of flow; the frequency difference between the frequency sent and the returning frequency.

This quiz focuses on ultrasound terminology, including various common root words and their meanings. Test your knowledge on key terms and abbreviations used in ultrasound studies. Perfect for students and professionals in the medical field.