There are differences to what mammograms and ultrasound can see, and so they are considered complementary procedures. Apparently mammography is better in "spatial resolution" -- or detail -- and in seeing microcalcifications. Ultrasound has more contrast, and so it's better at detecting what a specific breast mass may be made of (such as a fluid-filled cyst, which looks very different to an ultrasound picture than the breast tissue surrounding it). It's also useful in studying breast conditions in younger women, whose breast tissue is very dense.
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There are differences to what mammograms and ultrasound can see, and so they are considered complementary procedures. Apparently mammography is better in "spatial resolution" -- or detail -- and in seeing microcalcifications. Ultrasound has more contrast, and so it's better at detecting what a specific breast mass may be made of (such as a fluid-filled cyst, which looks very different to an ultrasound picture than the breast tissue surrounding it). It's also useful in studying breast conditions in younger women, whose breast tissue is very dense.
Here's a page in which both are discussed:
http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/ultrasound.asp
February 26, 2009 - 10:21amThis Comment
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