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The uterus and ovaries lie deep within the female pelvis. The sound
waves have to penetrate skin, fat, muscles and bowel before reaching the
pelvic organs. The sound waves are absorbed or blocked by these different
layers of body tissue. But the patient can be asked to do something to
help – fill her bladder.
With an empty bladder, although the
uterus appears to be nearer to the probe, images would be compromised by
overlying bowel. The axis of the uterus also means that the sound beam
strikes the uterus at the wrong angle to produce ideal images of the
endometrium and uterine content.
The full bladder pushes the bowel
out of the field of view, and acts as an excellent acoustic window,
making it easier to see the uterus.
These are transabdominal images of the
uterus in the same patient, on the same day. Notice how the position of
this anteverted uterus alters with a full and empty bladder. Notice how
part of the uterus is obscured by shadowing from bowel gas in the image
obtained with an empty bladder.
