Soft Tissue & Musculoskeletal

What you will learn

Ever wonder about that red patch of skin on your pediatric patient?  Is it a cellulitis that can be managed with antibiotics, or is it an abscess that needs drainage?  You don’t need to guess any more – ultrasound can make the decision for you.  In this chapter, we cover a range of soft tissue pathology and the sonographic appearance of everything “under the skin”.  We also discuss the musculoskeletal system, including the sonographic evaluation of fractures, the elbow, the shoulder, the knee, and the hip.  Learn to differentiate bone from tendon and ligament, and quickly identify joint effusions. 

• Choosing the right probe for soft tissue exams
• A water bath may help your scan
• Visualize bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and nerves
• Sonographic features of an abscess
• Diagnose an elbow fracture (or effusion) using ultrasound
• Evaluate for a shoulder dislocation
• Recognize fat pads and hyaline cartilage in the pediatric knee
• Painful hip – look for an effusion
• Anisotropy and the sonographic evaluation of tendons and ligaments