Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Flashcards
Echogenicity
Brightness on monitor
Hyperechoic
Increased echogenicity
Brighter
Isoechoic
Similar echogenicity to background tissue
Hypoechoic
Decreased echogenicity- darker
Anechoic
Black (simple fluid)
Shadowing
Reflective
Beam is reflected back (calcium/bone)
Tendons
Hyperechoic
Normally no blood flow noted
Fibrillar pattern (like braid) or fiber like
Muscle
Hypoechoic
Linear hyperechogenic deputations fibroadipose septations or perimysium marble type appearance
Septations converge to an aponeurosis or tendon on longitudinal plane
Transverse plane- starry sky
Ligaments
Hyperechoic
Similar to tendons but more compact than tendons (very dense braid)
Bone
Bright
Continuous echo with a smooth contour
Fat and skin
Subcutaneous fat typically Hypoechoic
Epidermis and dermis- single layer Hyperechoic layer
Cartilage
Fibrocartilage-Hyperechoic, labrum, menisci
Hyaline cartilage- Hypoechoic, Patellofemoral cartilage
Nerves
Round Hypoechoic well defined focus with homogenous Hyperechoic rim
Internal Hypoechoic foci= nerve fascicles
Hyperechoic rim= epineurium
Transverse image= honeycomb image
Less Hyperechoic than tendons
Do not exhibit anisotrophy
Honeycomb
Anisotrophy
Artifact resulting in apparent decreased echogenicity of tendon or ligament when probe is not 90 degrees to ultrasound beak
Probe will only receive reflected sound if beam strikes the surface at a right angle
Common at tendon insertions and when tendons curve
Tendinosis
Hypoechoic and typically heterogeneous
Enlarged or swollen
Indistinct margins
May display increased vascularity related to neovascularity
