Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
It is a test that uses sound waves to make pictures of the inside of the body.
If you have been pregnant in recent years you may well have had a scan like this to check the age, health and position of your growing baby.
Sound waves from the ultrasound machine pass through the skin and bounce off the body organs, like echoes. These echoes make pictures on a screen.
Doctors can use the pictures to look for anything unusual, such as a tumour.
They can also use ultrasound to help them take samples of tissue (biopsies) from the suspected cancer. The ultrasound pictures act as a guide, so that the samples are taken from the right place.
The procedure for most ultrasound scans is straightforward, and is described here.
The test may be done differently in some cases. For example, we can scan the womb and ovaries by placing a probe in the vagina. (This is called a transvaginal ultrasound.) We can scan the prostate gland by placing a probe in the rectum. (This is called a transrectal ultrasound or TRUS.) If you are to have either of these tests, your hospital will explain the procedure to you.
