What anomaly can ultrasound detect?
Like all medical diagnostic tests, ultrasound is a tool used to detect a specific set of abnormal conditions; it will not detect anything out side of that set of conditions. Conditions currently detectable to a varying degree by ultrasound includes anencephaly, hydrocephaly, neurotube defect (e.g. spina bifida), cleft palate, cleft lip, cardiovascular malformation (e.g. heart defect), diagphagmatic hernia, omphalocele, gastroschesis, renal malformation, limb abnormality, growth restriction, macrosomia, cervical incompetence, placenta previa, oligohydramnios, down syndrome, trisomy 13, trisomy 18, etc. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it does demonstrate the extensive set of conditions that we must look for specifically during each ultrasound. Unfortunately, the list of diseases not detected by us (e.g. sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy, mental retardation, cerebral palsy) is exponentially longer. Color doppler contribute to the evaluation of in utero fetal distress. Detec
