Comet tail artifact

Changed by Matt Skalski, 3 Apr 2016

Back to revision history

Updates to Article Attributes

Title was changed:

Comet-tail artifact

Body was changed:

Show markup changes

The comet-tail artifact is a grey-scale ultrasound finding seen when small calcific / crystalline / highly reflective objections are interrogated, and is believed to be a special form of reverberation ~~artefact~~artifact.

It is similar to the colour comet-tail artifact and is seen in similar situations, although is in general less sensitive than the later.

small renal or ureteric calculi
small common bile duct stones
adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder
pancreatic calcifications of chronic pancreatitis
testicular microlithiasis (sometimes)
thyroid colloid nodules
identification of foreign bodies
- surgical clips
- catheter tips
- debris / glass / metal

-The comet-tail artifact is a <a href="/articles/grey-scale-imaging">grey-scale ultrasound</a> finding seen when small calcific / crystalline / highly reflective objections are interrogated, and is believed to be a special form of <a href="/articles/reverberation-artifact">reverberation artefact</a>. It is similar to the <a title="colour comet-tail artifact" href="/articles/colour-comet-tail-artifact-1">colour comet-tail artifact</a> and is seen in similar situations, although is in general less sensitive than the later. <ul>
+The comet-tail artifact is a <a href="/articles/grey-scale-imaging">grey-scale ultrasound</a> finding seen when small calcific / crystalline / highly reflective objections are interrogated, and is believed to be a special form of <a href="/articles/reverberation-artifact">reverberation artifact</a>. It is similar to the <a href="/articles/colour-comet-tail-artefact-3">colour comet-tail artifact</a> and is seen in similar situations, although is in general less sensitive than the later. <ul>

ADVERTISEMENT: Supporters see fewer/no ads

{"current_user":null,"inclusions":[{"imageId":480098,"studyId":10491,"caseSlug":"comet-tail-photo-1","caption":"Figure 1: comet-tail","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/480098/b4a752168cf864f10067264419c884_big_gallery.JPG","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"not_applicable"},{"imageId":154494,"studyId":8763,"caseSlug":"gallbladder-adenomyomatosis-diffuse","caption":"Case 1: adenomyomatosis","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/154494/0f6d5fc2a87e74709965b7ab42d717_big_gallery.jpg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"probable"},{"imageId":4645,"studyId":37611,"caseSlug":"gallbladder-adenomyomatosis-2","caption":"Case 2: adenomyomatosis","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/4645/583684bc77a70874bd3dd4867dfe1a_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_unsubstantiated"},{"imageId":29580930,"studyId":58328,"caseSlug":"inspissated-colloid-in-a-thyroid-nodule","caption":"Case 3: thyroid colloid cyst","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/29580930/ac4ba0ad6aacd61adc789084b4c448_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_substantiated"},{"imageId":32567801,"studyId":61979,"caseSlug":"thyroid-colloid-nodule-1","caption":"Case 4: thyroid colloid cyst","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/32567801/0f673c587c0dae578bb7a247bb3606_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_unsubstantiated"},{"imageId":45435711,"studyId":74594,"caseSlug":"gallbladder-adenomyomatosis-10","caption":"Case 5: gallbladder adenomyomatosis","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/45435711/fba6478ac07da242d3fa7ec83e96a6_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_unsubstantiated"},{"imageId":63704753,"studyId":142453,"caseSlug":"calcified-hepatic-granulomata-1","caption":"Case 6: calcified hepatic granulomata","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/63704753/fbeefd019cd9f4de634db85040130c9ac73355c46da5aad81ea7896cbdee5596_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_substantiated"},{"imageId":63704953,"studyId":142459,"caseSlug":"testicular-microlithiasis-23","caption":"Case 7: testicular microlithiasis","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/63704953/496fd449028050255ac942e841fefc623a0333d00bf81dccf95f8018dbe3b9f3.mp4","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_substantiated"},{"imageId":63705395,"studyId":142460,"caseSlug":"colloid-nodule-thyroid-4","caption":"Case 8: colloid nodule (thyroid)","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/63705395/b8215e010dcc20f87f768c14029ddf5b2caf9002fe847fc4254999e57f22bccd_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":true,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_substantiated"},{"imageId":63809395,"studyId":142886,"caseSlug":"prostatic-brachytherapy-seeds-and-comet-tail-artifact","caption":"Case 9: prostatic brachytherapy seeds","thumbnail":"https://prod-images-static.radiopaedia.org/images/63809395/02e1f611edb53c82a9b80811b5bdf1f05a2bf387e5c56afa967163706d79479d_big_gallery.jpeg","isStack":false,"diagnosticCertainty":"confirmed_substantiated"}],"ddx_inclusions":[],"lang":"us"}

Updating… Please wait.

Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

Thank you for updating your details.

Comet tail artifact

Updates to Article Attributes

Articles

By Section:

By System:

Cases

Radiopaedia.org