Transvaginal ultrasound scans remain one of the most precise tools in women’s health diagnostics, but many patients do not fully understand how they differ from abdominal scans. Dr. Nighat Arif, GP and women’s health specialist, explains the purpose of each scan and why clinicians often rely on both for a complete picture.
She begins by demonstrating the two probes used for different types of imaging. “This is a transducer probe for an abdominal ultrasound scan,” she says. “And this wand or probe is for a vaginal ultrasound scan, sometimes called a transvaginal ultrasound scan.”
According to Dr. Arif, abdominal ultrasound provides a broad overview of internal organs. “The abdominal ultrasound scan allows us to look at the organs, and we try and say to people to go with a full bladder because that gives us an idea of what the bowel, liver, spleen, pancreas and also the uterus from the top and the ovaries can look like,” she explains. “But it does not always give us the greatest clarity.”
MedBound Times also reached out to Dr. Sumbul (MD Anatomy) for brief anatomical insights and to help explain the structural basis behind imaging clarity.
A full bladder shifts bowel loops upward, which naturally improves the view of the uterus and ovaries.
Dr Sumbul, MD Anatomy
To overcome limited visibility, Dr. Arif says clinicians turn to transvaginal ultrasound for higher-resolution imaging of the pelvic region.
“To get more detail, we do a transvaginal ultrasound scan using this magic wand that goes into the vagina,” she explains. “That gives us a more specific look at the female pelvic organs. So the uterus, the cervix, the ovaries and the fallopian tube.”
The vaginal canal sits much closer to the uterus and ovaries, allowing higher-resolution imaging.
Dr Sumbul, MD Anatomy
She emphasises that transvaginal ultrasound is also the “gold standard for early pregnancy detection,” especially between five and twelve weeks, because it identifies early pregnancy structures more clearly than abdominal imaging.
Dr. Arif highlights the scan’s importance in diagnosing common women’s health conditions. “We can look for more specific gynecological conditions like fibroids, cysts in the ovaries or cysts anywhere around the uterus or look for causes of abnormal bleeding such as PCOS or adenomyosis or endometriosis,” she says.
She adds that trained women’s health sonographers and gynecologists can identify adenomyosis and endometriosis on a transvaginal scan, though visibility can still vary from patient to patient.
Uterine positions like retroversion and the natural mobility of the ovaries often make transvaginal scans superior to abdominal ones.
Dr Sumbul, MD Anatomy
Even the best ultrasound scan cannot always provide all the answers. Dr. Arif stresses that ultrasound is just one part of a diagnostic pathway.
“Sometimes even on the best transvaginal or abdominal ultrasound scan, or both of them are done together, we might not be able to see all the things that we wanted to look at,” she says. “Therefore, we might have to do some other investigations like a CT or an MRI.”
Microscopic lesions or deep-seated disease often don’t alter gross anatomy, so they may remain invisible on ultrasound.
Dr Sumbul, MD Anatomy
Dr. Arif encourages patients to keep an eye on their symptoms even when their scan appears normal. “The scan is just part of the jigsaw piece that helps us piece things together,” she explains. “If you are still having symptoms such as heavy bleeding, painful bleeding or abdominal pain and the scan came back as normal, we cannot exclude endometriosis and adenomyosis.”
Her final message remains simple: trust your symptoms, not just the scan report.
(Rh/ARC/SS/MSM)
