Ultrasound Glossary

A ureteral jet is a burst of urine visible on color Doppler as it enters the bladder from the ureter, confirming urine flow from the kidney.

A ureterocele is a balloon-like dilation of the end of the ureter inside the bladder, visible on ultrasound as a thin-walled cyst at the bladder base.

The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body, occasionally evaluated by ultrasound for strictures or diverticula.

The urinary bladder is the organ that stores urine, routinely imaged by ultrasound to assess wall thickness, stones, masses, and post-void residual.

A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection of the urinary system, where ultrasound helps evaluate for complications and predisposing factors.

The uterine artery supplies blood to the uterus and is evaluated by Doppler ultrasound for abnormal resistance, especially during pregnancy.

A benign smooth muscle tumor of the uterus, appearing on ultrasound as a hypoechoic mass that distorts normal uterine architecture.

The uterus is the female reproductive organ where pregnancy develops, routinely evaluated by both transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound.

A varicocele is a dilation of veins in the scrotum, diagnosed by ultrasound as enlarged vessels that increase in size with the Valsalva maneuver.

Vascular refers to blood vessels. Learn about vascular anatomy, disease, and vascular sonography imaging.

Vascular access refers to establishing a route into a blood vessel, increasingly performed under ultrasound guidance for safety and accuracy.

A specialized ultrasound field using duplex imaging to evaluate arteries and veins throughout the body for stenosis, thrombosis, and aneurysm.

Vascularity refers to the degree of blood vessel supply to a tissue or lesion, assessed by color and power Doppler ultrasound.

Vasodilation is the widening of blood vessels, which increases blood flow and can be detected as changes in Doppler flow patterns on ultrasound.

Vena Contracta: The narrowest point of a regurgitant color Doppler jet at the valve orifice; width ≥7 mm for MR or ≥6 mm for AR indicates severe valvular regurgitation. The vena contracta is the narrowest cross-sectional diameter of a regurgitant jet as it passes through an incompetent valve orifice, measured on color Doppler echocardiography. It…

Venous insufficiency is a condition in which leg veins cannot efficiently return blood to the heart, diagnosed by Doppler ultrasound showing reflux.

A condition encompassing both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), characterized by blood clot formation in the venous system.

A ventricular septal defect is a hole in the wall between the heart’s two lower chambers, detected and evaluated by echocardiography.

The vertebral artery is a vessel in the neck that supplies blood to the brain, assessed by Doppler ultrasound for stenosis and flow reversal.

Vesicoureteral reflux is the backward flow of urine from the bladder toward the kidneys, assessed in children using ultrasound and contrast studies.

Volume measurement in ultrasound uses dimensional measurements to calculate the size of organs, masses, or fluid collections.

Reduced or absent contraction of a segment of the heart wall on echocardiography, indicating ischemia or infarction.

A waveform in Doppler ultrasound is the graphical display of blood flow velocity over time, providing critical diagnostic information about vascular conditions.

Whirlpool Sign: Sonographic color Doppler sign of a spiraling vascular pedicle; pathognomonic for testicular or ovarian torsion when visualized. The whirlpool sign is a sonographic finding on color Doppler ultrasound in which the spermatic cord or ovarian pedicle appears as a rotating or spiraling vascular structure, resembling a whirlpool. It is pathognomonic for testicular torsion…

The yolk sac is the first visible structure within the gestational sac on early pregnancy ultrasound, confirming an intrauterine pregnancy.