What happens to ultrasound waves as they pass through soft tissue?

As ultrasound waves travel through soft tissue, they undergo processes of absorption, reflection, and refraction. This interaction is essential to understand how ultrasound imaging works and how it can effectively visualize structures within the body.

Absorption occurs as the ultrasound waves penetrate the tissues, with some of their energy converted into heat. This is particularly relevant because it affects the depth to which ultrasound can effectively penetrate and provide useful imaging data. Different tissues have varying absorption characteristics, which can influence the quality of the imaging.

Reflection happens at the interfaces of different tissue types. For instance, when ultrasound waves encounter a boundary between muscle and fat or between fluid and solid tissue, some of the waves bounce back to the transducer, contributing to the echogenic signals that are used for imaging.

Refraction causes the ultrasound waves to change direction as they pass through different tissues with varying acoustic densities. This bending of the waves can alter the perceived location of structures, which is a consideration in ultrasound evaluations.

Understanding this behavior of ultrasound waves is crucial in interpreting ultrasound images and in optimizing the parameters of the ultrasound for better diagnostic outcomes. The other options do not accurately represent the behavior of ultrasound waves; they do not experience doubling of intensity, full dissipation, or remain unprocessed during their passage through