Difference Between Sonogram and Ultrasound
When we come across the medical terms, Sonogram as well as Ultrasound are the two term that are very frequently encountered by the patients. When we refer to the word ULTRASOUND, we mean a technology that uses ultrasonic sound waves that are not audible to the human ears. In case of ultrasound, the technology that is used is the reflection of sound waves. Different substances reflect sound waves in different manner and hence provide a detail about their location and position. So, in case of Ultrasound, The high frequency waves are made to pass through the human body. These sound waves get reflected by the internal organs and thus an image of the position, size and structure of the organs is obtained. This image is known as the sonogram. So the basic difference between ultrasound and sonogram is that ultrasound is a kind of technology, while sonogram is the graphical output obtained as a result of the technology. This means that on one hand ultrasound is the technology that is all about creating a pressure by the use of sound waves of high frequency, on the other, sonogram is the output or the result obtained as a result of the same technology employed to study internal organs, in the form of images. Sonograms have their use limited to the medical fields of study and specialisations like gynaecology, radiology, ophthalmology etc. In case of gynaecology, it is used to view the different stages of development of the foetus and also whether the growth is occurring normally o not. On the other hand, the technology of ultrasound finds its use beyond the medical fields such as in case of factories that are in the field of cleaning technology etc. Ultrasound technique has also found its use in several experiments that have been conducted on the animals to determine the range of the sound waves that are audible to the different animals. In short, we can say that the discovery of the sonogram is purely due to the knowledge of ultrasound technique among the doctors. This is because had there been no knowledge of the ability to view the internal organs on the basis of sound wave reflections, there would not have been the need of producing a permanent record in the form of image by the doctors. So in short Sonogram owes its origin to the Ultrasound technology.