What is ultrasound used for?

Ultrasound is a single word that readers meet in many different conditions, which makes the question of what it is used for easy to over-simplify. This page starts with the one statement the source makes.

The answer first

medlineplus.gov states: "An ultrasound can be used in different ways, depending on the type of ultrasound and which part of the body is being checked." Two things decide the use, and they are the type of ultrasound and the part of the body under examination.

The detail that separates the uses

Because the use depends on the body part, the same word can mean quite different checks. NHLBI, NIH keeps separate diagnosis pages for three conditions. They are venous thromboembolism, peripheral artery disease and aortic aneurysm. Read each one for how its diagnosis is carried out.

Which type, and which body part

When a provider in Orland Park, Frankfort or New Lenox recommends an ultrasound, ask which type it is and which part of the body it will check. Those two answers map directly onto the source's statement.

The follow-up question this raises is how a specific condition, such as a blood clot, is diagnosed.