What are common artifact types encountered in abdominal ultrasounds?

In abdominal ultrasounds, common artifact types include reverberation, shadowing, and enhancement artifacts.

Reverberation occurs when sound waves bounce back and forth between two highly reflective surfaces, creating multiple echoes that can appear as false echoes on the ultrasound image. This is particularly important to recognize, as it can mimic or obscure true anatomical structures.

Shadowing is another significant artifact that occurs when a structure, such as a stone or air-filled organ, strongly attenuates the sound waves. The result is an area of reduced echogenicity directly beneath the object, which can be misleading if not properly interpreted.

Enhancement artifacts typically occur when sound travels through a fluid-filled structure, such as a cyst. The fluid causes less attenuation of the sound waves, resulting in a brighter area beneath the cyst, which can be mistaken for increased echogenicity of underlying tissues.

These artifacts are essential to identify because they can aid in diagnosis when understood correctly, but they can also confuse the interpretation if their nature isn't recognized. The other options include types of artifacts that might not be as commonly associated with standard abdominal ultrasound practice or are less relevant in the context of the primary artifacts seen.