Is It Real or Is It an Artifact

Abstract

Sonographic artifacts are inherent to the modality and occur to some extent in every image. This is despite optimal technique and scanning parameters. Artifacts occur in both gray-scale and color Doppler imaging, and though many are readily recognizable as such, occasionally, an artifact may obscure the diagnosis or even create false pathology. This article illustrates the common and some of the more unusual sonographic artifacts that may be encountered, reviews the factors leading to their formation, and discusses strategies to recognize and minimize these misleading echoes.