Using an ultrasound to identify an ectopic pregnancy. Their patient was a young female thought to be approx 8 weeks pregnant who presented with generalized abdominal pain. She was hemodynamically stable. The ultrasound below was obtained with curvilinear probe placed just superior to the pubic symphysis with the indicator marker pointed towards the patient's head. Note that on this image no definitive intrauterine pregnancy is identified. Recall that an intrauterine pregnancy is defined and a gestational sac containing either a yolk sac or a fetal pole surrounded by a thick rim of the myometrium. It is important that you identify contents within the gestational sac as pseudo sac can form in association with an ectopic pregnancy that may be incorrectly identified as a true IUP.
