Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsIndicationsUsesTypesProcedureInterpretationNext Steps
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Indications
Uses
Types
Procedure
Interpretation
Next Steps
A bladder ultrasound is a noninvasive imaging technique used to check for abnormalities in the urinary bladder. It involves the use of a handheld device called a transducer that bounces high-frequency sound waves off the bladder to create detailed images without exposure to radiation or the need for anesthesia.
A bladder ultrasound can provide valuable information about the cause of functional disorders likeoveractive bladderand detect abnormalities likebladder stonesorbladder cancer.
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A Note on Gender and Sex TerminologyVerywell Health acknowledges thatsex and genderare related concepts, but they are not the same. To accurately reflect our sources, this article uses terms like “male," female," “men,” and “women” as the sources use them.
A Note on Gender and Sex Terminology
Verywell Health acknowledges thatsex and genderare related concepts, but they are not the same. To accurately reflect our sources, this article uses terms like “male," female," “men,” and “women” as the sources use them.
Reasons for Ordering a Bladder Ultrasound
Common reasons why a bladder ultrasound may be ordered include:
Theurinary bladderis a hollow muscular organ that serves as a reservoir for urine (pee). The adult bladder holds between 400 and 500 milliliters (mL) of urine and, when full, has a symmetrical shape with smooth walls 2 to 3 millimeters (mm) thick.
Located within the walls is asmooth (involuntary) musclecalled the detrusor muscle, which contracts when needed to squeeze urine out of the bladder.
If you have urinary problems, the bladder is one of the first organs examined with ultrasound. Theureters(the tubes that transfer urine from thekidneysto the bladder) and the bladder neck (the connection between the bladder and a tube called theurethrathrough which urine exits the body) are also examined.
What a Bladder Ultrasound Can Detect
A bladder ultrasound, also known as a bladder sonogram or bladdersonography, is used to assess three major things: the anatomy of your bladder (including the thickness of the bladder wall), how much urine your bladder can hold, and how much urine is left after you pee.
Ultrasonography can also help calculate the amount of urine left in the bladder after urination, referred to as post-void residual (PVR) volume.In this case, it is performed after urinating.
An ultrasound can help diagnose many diseases and disorders affecting the bladder, including:
Types of Bladder Ultrasound
While all ultrasounds operate on the same principle, some devices are designed for specific body organs and have specific uses.
Standardabdominal ultrasoundsused for deep organs emit lower frequency sound waves (1 to 6 MHz),while those used for superficial tissues like skin, muscles, and breasts emit sound waves up to 100 MHz.
There are 2D ultrasounds that generate flat, cross-sectional images and three-dimensional (3D) ultrasounds that composite images from different angles to generate a 3D image. The latter is better able to calculate PVR volume than its two-dimensional counterpart.
There are alsoDoppler ultrasoundsthat incorporate two separate transducers—one to emit and another to receive sound waves—to measure blood flow in addition to standard imaging. An enhanced version, called a color Doppler ultrasound, translates the speed of blood flow into different colors. Both are useful in detecting vascular abnormalities likeblood clots.
The Ultrasound Prep Process
In addition to the ultrasound device, the procedure involves a clear gel that allows the sound waves to pass in and out of your body without dispersing into the air.
The basic steps for a bladder ultrasound, also called a bladder scan, are as follows:
Once you are cleared to leave, you can change back into your clothes and return to work or home on your own.
Normal Bladder vs. Abnormal Scan Results
Depending on the aims of the evaluation, the bladder scan can assess:
Together and on their own, the findings can provide valuable information as to the underlying cause of urologic problems like:
Next Steps With Abnormal Ultrasound
To make a definitive diagnosis, your urologist may order additional tests, including:
Summary
A bladder ultrasound is a safe, noninvasive tool that creates images of the bladder using high-frequency sound waves. It is performed while your bladder is full to check the thickness of the bladder wall, see how much urine it holds, and calculate how much urine remains after you pee.
A bladder ultrasound can identify problems like bladder stones, diverticula, tumors, and obstructions and help diagnose conditions like overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis, and bladder cancer.
23 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Urinary tract imaging.Point of Care Ultrasound Certification Academy.Introduction to point of care urinary bladder ultrasound.Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012Tau PJ, Manivannan S, Dancel R.Bedside assessment of the kidneys and bladder using point of care ultrasound.POCUS J. 2022;7(Kidney):94–104. doi:10.24908/pocus.v7iKidney.15347Asimakopoulos AD, De Nunzio C, Kocjancic E, Tubaro A, Rosier PF, Finazzi-Agro E.Measurement of post-void residual urine.Neurourol Urodyn. 2016;35(1):55-7. doi:10.1002/nau.22671Lightner DJ, Gomelsky A, Souter L, et al.Diagnosis and treatment of overactive bladder (non-neurogenic) in adults: AUA/SUFU guideline amendment 2019.J Urol.2019;202:558. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000000309Hughes T, Ho HC, Pietropaolo A, Somani BK.Guideline of guidelines for kidney and bladder stones.Turk J Urol.2020;46(Suppl 1):S104–S112. doi:10.5152/tud.2020.20315Sussman RD, Drain A, Brucker BM.Primary bladder neck obstruction.Rev Urol.2019;21(2-3):53-62.Labham S, Gutierrez S.Diagnosis of bladder diverticula with point-of-care ultrasound.Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. 2021;5(4):466–467. doi:10.5811/cpcem.2021.7.53199Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Overview: acute cystitis.Clemens JQ, Erickson DR, Varela NP, Lai NH.Diagnosis and treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.J Urol. 2022;208(1):34-42. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000002756Gonzalez EJM, Bencomo N, Tirado A, Tucci V.Ureterocele diagnosed with point-of-care ultrasound.Cureus. 2023;15(2):e35283. doi:10.7759/cureus.35283American Cancer Society.Tests for bladder cancer.Nishida M, Hasegawa Ym Hata, J.Basic practices for gastrointestinal ultrasound.J Med Ultrasonics.2023;50:285–310. doi:10.1007/s10396-022-01236-0Mlosek RK, Migda B, Migda M.High-frequency ultrasound in the 21st century.J Ultrason,2020;20(83):e233–e241. doi:10.15557/JoU.2020.0042Nagle AS, Bernardo RJ, Varghese J, Carruci LR, Klausner A, Speich J.Comparison of 2D and 3D ultrasound methods to measure serial bladder volumes during filling: steps toward development of non-invasive ultrasound urodynamics.Bladder (San Franc).2018;5(1):e32. doi:10.14440/bladder.2018.565Abouelhkeir RT, Abdelhamid A, El-Ghar MA, El-Diasty T.Imaging of bladder cancer: standard applications and future trends.Medicina (Kaunas). 2021;57(3):220. doi: 10.3390/medicina57030220Gharibvand MM, Kazemi M, Motamedfar A, Sametzadeh , Sahraeizadeh A,The role of ultrasound in diagnosis and evaluation of bladder tumors.J Family Med Prim Care. 2017;6(4):840–843. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_186_17Smith PP, Kuchel GA.Clinical meaning of a high postvoid residual: when the value of a result Is less and more than one would expect.J Am Geriatr Soc.2015;63(7):1432-4. doi:10.1111/jgs.13479/Koratala A, Vangapalli A, Bhattacharya D, Loy JL.Bladder stone: “must know” ultrasonographic signs.Clin Case Rep. 2019;7(3):573–574. doi:10.1002/ccr3.1977McQuaid JW, Kurtz MP, Logvinenko T, Nelson CP.Bladder debris on renal and bladder ultrasound: a significant predictor of positive urine culture.J Pediatr Urol. 2017;13(4):385.e1–385.e5. doi:10.1016/j.jpurol.2017.04.020Rachaneni S, McCooty S, Middleton LJ.Overactive bladder. In:Bladder ultrasonography for diagnosing detrusor overactivity: test accuracy study and economic evaluation. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016.University of Florida Health.Urologic evaluations.
23 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Urinary tract imaging.Point of Care Ultrasound Certification Academy.Introduction to point of care urinary bladder ultrasound.Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012Tau PJ, Manivannan S, Dancel R.Bedside assessment of the kidneys and bladder using point of care ultrasound.POCUS J. 2022;7(Kidney):94–104. doi:10.24908/pocus.v7iKidney.15347Asimakopoulos AD, De Nunzio C, Kocjancic E, Tubaro A, Rosier PF, Finazzi-Agro E.Measurement of post-void residual urine.Neurourol Urodyn. 2016;35(1):55-7. doi:10.1002/nau.22671Lightner DJ, Gomelsky A, Souter L, et al.Diagnosis and treatment of overactive bladder (non-neurogenic) in adults: AUA/SUFU guideline amendment 2019.J Urol.2019;202:558. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000000309Hughes T, Ho HC, Pietropaolo A, Somani BK.Guideline of guidelines for kidney and bladder stones.Turk J Urol.2020;46(Suppl 1):S104–S112. doi:10.5152/tud.2020.20315Sussman RD, Drain A, Brucker BM.Primary bladder neck obstruction.Rev Urol.2019;21(2-3):53-62.Labham S, Gutierrez S.Diagnosis of bladder diverticula with point-of-care ultrasound.Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. 2021;5(4):466–467. doi:10.5811/cpcem.2021.7.53199Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Overview: acute cystitis.Clemens JQ, Erickson DR, Varela NP, Lai NH.Diagnosis and treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.J Urol. 2022;208(1):34-42. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000002756Gonzalez EJM, Bencomo N, Tirado A, Tucci V.Ureterocele diagnosed with point-of-care ultrasound.Cureus. 2023;15(2):e35283. doi:10.7759/cureus.35283American Cancer Society.Tests for bladder cancer.Nishida M, Hasegawa Ym Hata, J.Basic practices for gastrointestinal ultrasound.J Med Ultrasonics.2023;50:285–310. doi:10.1007/s10396-022-01236-0Mlosek RK, Migda B, Migda M.High-frequency ultrasound in the 21st century.J Ultrason,2020;20(83):e233–e241. doi:10.15557/JoU.2020.0042Nagle AS, Bernardo RJ, Varghese J, Carruci LR, Klausner A, Speich J.Comparison of 2D and 3D ultrasound methods to measure serial bladder volumes during filling: steps toward development of non-invasive ultrasound urodynamics.Bladder (San Franc).2018;5(1):e32. doi:10.14440/bladder.2018.565Abouelhkeir RT, Abdelhamid A, El-Ghar MA, El-Diasty T.Imaging of bladder cancer: standard applications and future trends.Medicina (Kaunas). 2021;57(3):220. doi: 10.3390/medicina57030220Gharibvand MM, Kazemi M, Motamedfar A, Sametzadeh , Sahraeizadeh A,The role of ultrasound in diagnosis and evaluation of bladder tumors.J Family Med Prim Care. 2017;6(4):840–843. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_186_17Smith PP, Kuchel GA.Clinical meaning of a high postvoid residual: when the value of a result Is less and more than one would expect.J Am Geriatr Soc.2015;63(7):1432-4. doi:10.1111/jgs.13479/Koratala A, Vangapalli A, Bhattacharya D, Loy JL.Bladder stone: “must know” ultrasonographic signs.Clin Case Rep. 2019;7(3):573–574. doi:10.1002/ccr3.1977McQuaid JW, Kurtz MP, Logvinenko T, Nelson CP.Bladder debris on renal and bladder ultrasound: a significant predictor of positive urine culture.J Pediatr Urol. 2017;13(4):385.e1–385.e5. doi:10.1016/j.jpurol.2017.04.020Rachaneni S, McCooty S, Middleton LJ.Overactive bladder. In:Bladder ultrasonography for diagnosing detrusor overactivity: test accuracy study and economic evaluation. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016.University of Florida Health.Urologic evaluations.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Urinary tract imaging.Point of Care Ultrasound Certification Academy.Introduction to point of care urinary bladder ultrasound.Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012Tau PJ, Manivannan S, Dancel R.Bedside assessment of the kidneys and bladder using point of care ultrasound.POCUS J. 2022;7(Kidney):94–104. doi:10.24908/pocus.v7iKidney.15347Asimakopoulos AD, De Nunzio C, Kocjancic E, Tubaro A, Rosier PF, Finazzi-Agro E.Measurement of post-void residual urine.Neurourol Urodyn. 2016;35(1):55-7. doi:10.1002/nau.22671Lightner DJ, Gomelsky A, Souter L, et al.Diagnosis and treatment of overactive bladder (non-neurogenic) in adults: AUA/SUFU guideline amendment 2019.J Urol.2019;202:558. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000000309Hughes T, Ho HC, Pietropaolo A, Somani BK.Guideline of guidelines for kidney and bladder stones.Turk J Urol.2020;46(Suppl 1):S104–S112. doi:10.5152/tud.2020.20315Sussman RD, Drain A, Brucker BM.Primary bladder neck obstruction.Rev Urol.2019;21(2-3):53-62.Labham S, Gutierrez S.Diagnosis of bladder diverticula with point-of-care ultrasound.Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. 2021;5(4):466–467. doi:10.5811/cpcem.2021.7.53199Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Overview: acute cystitis.Clemens JQ, Erickson DR, Varela NP, Lai NH.Diagnosis and treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.J Urol. 2022;208(1):34-42. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000002756Gonzalez EJM, Bencomo N, Tirado A, Tucci V.Ureterocele diagnosed with point-of-care ultrasound.Cureus. 2023;15(2):e35283. doi:10.7759/cureus.35283American Cancer Society.Tests for bladder cancer.Nishida M, Hasegawa Ym Hata, J.Basic practices for gastrointestinal ultrasound.J Med Ultrasonics.2023;50:285–310. doi:10.1007/s10396-022-01236-0Mlosek RK, Migda B, Migda M.High-frequency ultrasound in the 21st century.J Ultrason,2020;20(83):e233–e241. doi:10.15557/JoU.2020.0042Nagle AS, Bernardo RJ, Varghese J, Carruci LR, Klausner A, Speich J.Comparison of 2D and 3D ultrasound methods to measure serial bladder volumes during filling: steps toward development of non-invasive ultrasound urodynamics.Bladder (San Franc).2018;5(1):e32. doi:10.14440/bladder.2018.565Abouelhkeir RT, Abdelhamid A, El-Ghar MA, El-Diasty T.Imaging of bladder cancer: standard applications and future trends.Medicina (Kaunas). 2021;57(3):220. doi: 10.3390/medicina57030220Gharibvand MM, Kazemi M, Motamedfar A, Sametzadeh , Sahraeizadeh A,The role of ultrasound in diagnosis and evaluation of bladder tumors.J Family Med Prim Care. 2017;6(4):840–843. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_186_17Smith PP, Kuchel GA.Clinical meaning of a high postvoid residual: when the value of a result Is less and more than one would expect.J Am Geriatr Soc.2015;63(7):1432-4. doi:10.1111/jgs.13479/Koratala A, Vangapalli A, Bhattacharya D, Loy JL.Bladder stone: “must know” ultrasonographic signs.Clin Case Rep. 2019;7(3):573–574. doi:10.1002/ccr3.1977McQuaid JW, Kurtz MP, Logvinenko T, Nelson CP.Bladder debris on renal and bladder ultrasound: a significant predictor of positive urine culture.J Pediatr Urol. 2017;13(4):385.e1–385.e5. doi:10.1016/j.jpurol.2017.04.020Rachaneni S, McCooty S, Middleton LJ.Overactive bladder. In:Bladder ultrasonography for diagnosing detrusor overactivity: test accuracy study and economic evaluation. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016.University of Florida Health.Urologic evaluations.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Urinary tract imaging.
Point of Care Ultrasound Certification Academy.Introduction to point of care urinary bladder ultrasound.
Hickling DR, Sun TT, Wu XR.Anatomy and physiology of the urinary tract: relation to host defense and microbial infection.Microbiol Spectr.2015;3(4):10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.UTI-0016-2012
Tau PJ, Manivannan S, Dancel R.Bedside assessment of the kidneys and bladder using point of care ultrasound.POCUS J. 2022;7(Kidney):94–104. doi:10.24908/pocus.v7iKidney.15347
Asimakopoulos AD, De Nunzio C, Kocjancic E, Tubaro A, Rosier PF, Finazzi-Agro E.Measurement of post-void residual urine.Neurourol Urodyn. 2016;35(1):55-7. doi:10.1002/nau.22671
Lightner DJ, Gomelsky A, Souter L, et al.Diagnosis and treatment of overactive bladder (non-neurogenic) in adults: AUA/SUFU guideline amendment 2019.J Urol.2019;202:558. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000000309
Hughes T, Ho HC, Pietropaolo A, Somani BK.Guideline of guidelines for kidney and bladder stones.Turk J Urol.2020;46(Suppl 1):S104–S112. doi:10.5152/tud.2020.20315
Sussman RD, Drain A, Brucker BM.Primary bladder neck obstruction.Rev Urol.2019;21(2-3):53-62.
Labham S, Gutierrez S.Diagnosis of bladder diverticula with point-of-care ultrasound.Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. 2021;5(4):466–467. doi:10.5811/cpcem.2021.7.53199
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care.Overview: acute cystitis.
Clemens JQ, Erickson DR, Varela NP, Lai NH.Diagnosis and treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.J Urol. 2022;208(1):34-42. doi:10.1097/JU.0000000000002756
Gonzalez EJM, Bencomo N, Tirado A, Tucci V.Ureterocele diagnosed with point-of-care ultrasound.Cureus. 2023;15(2):e35283. doi:10.7759/cureus.35283
American Cancer Society.Tests for bladder cancer.
Nishida M, Hasegawa Ym Hata, J.Basic practices for gastrointestinal ultrasound.J Med Ultrasonics.2023;50:285–310. doi:10.1007/s10396-022-01236-0
Mlosek RK, Migda B, Migda M.High-frequency ultrasound in the 21st century.J Ultrason,2020;20(83):e233–e241. doi:10.15557/JoU.2020.0042
Nagle AS, Bernardo RJ, Varghese J, Carruci LR, Klausner A, Speich J.Comparison of 2D and 3D ultrasound methods to measure serial bladder volumes during filling: steps toward development of non-invasive ultrasound urodynamics.Bladder (San Franc).2018;5(1):e32. doi:10.14440/bladder.2018.565
Abouelhkeir RT, Abdelhamid A, El-Ghar MA, El-Diasty T.Imaging of bladder cancer: standard applications and future trends.Medicina (Kaunas). 2021;57(3):220. doi: 10.3390/medicina57030220
Gharibvand MM, Kazemi M, Motamedfar A, Sametzadeh , Sahraeizadeh A,The role of ultrasound in diagnosis and evaluation of bladder tumors.J Family Med Prim Care. 2017;6(4):840–843. doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_186_17
Smith PP, Kuchel GA.Clinical meaning of a high postvoid residual: when the value of a result Is less and more than one would expect.J Am Geriatr Soc.2015;63(7):1432-4. doi:10.1111/jgs.13479/
Koratala A, Vangapalli A, Bhattacharya D, Loy JL.Bladder stone: “must know” ultrasonographic signs.Clin Case Rep. 2019;7(3):573–574. doi:10.1002/ccr3.1977
McQuaid JW, Kurtz MP, Logvinenko T, Nelson CP.Bladder debris on renal and bladder ultrasound: a significant predictor of positive urine culture.J Pediatr Urol. 2017;13(4):385.e1–385.e5. doi:10.1016/j.jpurol.2017.04.020
Rachaneni S, McCooty S, Middleton LJ.Overactive bladder. In:Bladder ultrasonography for diagnosing detrusor overactivity: test accuracy study and economic evaluation. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016.
University of Florida Health.Urologic evaluations.
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