During an abdominal ultrasound, the liver lesion appears duplicated on the opposite side of the diaphragm. Which artifact is responsible for this finding?

• A Mirror image artifact ✓
• B Reverberation artifact
• C Refraction artifact (edge shadowing)
• D Side lobe artifact

Explanation

Mirror image artifact occurs when the ultrasound beam reflects off a strong specular reflector such as the diaphragm, causing a real structure to be duplicated on the far side. The machine assumes echoes travel in straight lines and places the mirror image equidistant beyond the reflector. Reverberation produces multiple parallel lines, refraction causes edge shadows, and side lobe artifacts produce arc-like duplicates away from the main beam axis.

Reference: Webb, Thin-Section CT of the Lungs; Rumack, Diagnostic Ultrasound, 5th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.