Breast UltrasoundTest Overview
A breast
ultrasound uses sound waves to make a picture of the
tissues inside the breast. A breast ultrasound can show all areas of the
breast, including the area closest to the chest wall, which is hard to study
with a
mammogram. Breast ultrasound does not use
X-rays or other potentially harmful types of
radiation. A breast ultrasound is used to see whether a breast
lump is filled with fluid (a
cyst) or if it is a solid lump. An ultrasound does not
replace the need for a mammogram, but it is often used to check abnormal
results from a mammogram. For a breast ultrasound, a small
handheld unit called a
transducer  is gently passed back and forth over the
breast. A computer turns the sound waves into a picture on a TV screen. The
picture is called a sonogram or ultrasound scan.
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