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Ultrasound signs of ectopic pregnancy
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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Ultrasound signs of ectopic pregnancy
A pelvic mass in a woman of childbearing age may well be an ectopic pregnancy. Although sonography can be useful, it is not an accurate enough method to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy. Very rarely, sonography reveals a fertilized egg with an embryo located outside the uterine cavity, but most often, effusion of blood is detected in the retrouterine space, and an enlarged, fluid-filled fallopian tube is visualized.
Be careful:
- A normal ultrasound image of the pelvic organs does not exclude the presence of an ectopic pregnancy.
- In the presence of positive laboratory pregnancy test results, an unchanged echographic picture does not make it possible to exclude an ectopic pregnancy.
When a normal uterine pregnancy is detected, it is possible that there is also an ectopic pregnancy occurring at the same time.
A careful comparison of the anamnesis and clinical examination data with the echographic picture is necessary.