A Day in the Life of a General Sonographer: Organs, Oddities & Overfilled Bladders 🥤🩻

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be an abdominal sonographer, picture this: one part detective, one part contortionist, and one part patient-coach (“Please hold your breath… no, not that long!”). From chasing gallstones to navigating post-lunch gas patterns, the abdominal ultrasound routine is never boring.

Morning: The Gallbladder Games 🥚

The day usually kicks off with a fasting gallbladder exam. In theory, fasting makes for pristine imaging. In reality, half your patients sneak in a “light breakfast” of bacon and eggs. Cue the contracted gallbladder that looks more like a sad raisin than a fluid-filled sac. And yes, you’ll politely smile while silently whispering, “Thanks for nothing, sausage biscuit.”

Midday: The Liver Chronicles 🍷

Ah, the liver—the drama queen of abdominal ultrasound. Fatty infiltration, cirrhosis, nodules… it’s always ready to put on a show. Every tech has had that moment when the liver looks so bright you consider handing out sunglasses. And don’t forget the patient who jokes, “Guess I shouldn’t have had that glass of wine last night, huh?” (Sir, it’s not one glass we’re seeing here.)

Afternoon: Kidneys on the Run 🏃‍♂️

Finding kidneys in a layer of bowel gas is like a scavenger hunt with extra rib shadows. Some patients make it easy—you drop the probe and voilà, perfect kidney shot. Others? You’re twisting, turning, and silently negotiating with their bowel gas to please move over. And of course, hydronephrosis never shows up until the exact moment you have taken half your pictures.

The Spleen (A.K.A. “The Forgotten Cousin”) 🍉

The spleen rarely gets the spotlight, but when it does—oh boy. Enlarged spleens can hog the whole screen. And patients always ask, “What does the spleen even do?” (Answer: a lot… but explaining it feels like teaching a crash course in hematology at 3 p.m.)

The Bladder Fiasco 🚽

General sonographers know: bladder prep is a gamble. You either get the overachiever who drank a gallon of water and is about to burst, or the underachiever who “forgot” and has an empty bladder that makes you question your life choices. Either way, you’ll get through it—with patience and maybe a few sympathetic laughs.

Oddities & Unexpected Finds 🎁

General ultrasound imaging keeps you on your toes. One minute you’re scanning for gallstones, the next you’re staring at a giant liver hemangioma or halfway up to your elbow in a transvaginal. And there are always the "Dad Joke" male patients who love to ask, “So do you see the baby in there?” (Nope—not quite. But thanks for keeping it interesting.)

Final Thought 💡

A day in the life of a general sonographer is a blend of routine organs, unexpected surprises, and patient interactions that could fill a sitcom script. Whether it’s navigating gas patterns, chasing elusive kidneys, or politely answering spleen questions for the 100th time, general ultrasound is anything but dull.
At the end of the day, we may leave smelling faintly of ultrasound gel, but we leave knowing we’ve played a crucial role in helping patients and doctors solve some of the body’s biggest mysteries—one organ at a time.

-Lara Williams, BS, ACS, RCCS, RDCS, RVT, RDMS, FASE

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