sonogram

sonogram An image of the body's interior produced by sound waves — or, rather, by ultrasound, because the waves are of much higher frequency than those which can be heard. Sound imaging originally helped military personnel locate enemy aircraft and submarines in World War II. After the war, medical researchers began to apply this technology to the human body. Doctors first employed ultrasound to look at the brain, to diagnose heart disease, and to detect tumours. Obstetricians also started to utilize the diagnostic technique because of the dangers associated with X-raying fetuses, a practice that resulted in deaths from cancer in children under the age of 10. Sonograms have become an established part of prenatal care in the First World because the equipment used to produce these images is affordable and can be used in the doctor's office. Ultrasound is ordered routinely — although one study in 1993 concluded that sonograms provide no substantial health benefit for the mother or the fetus. Many physicians, however, disagree with this assessment and argue that sonograms furnish important information about the development, health, and age of fetuses. Sonograms confirm pregnancies, ensure that fetuses are developing normally, determine age, and indicate delivery dates more accurately. Ultrasound technology also represents a non-invasive form of medical diagnosis that can take the place of exploratory surgery.

The ability to ‘see’ inside the human body has had effects far outside medicine. Mothers and fathers proudly display sonograms in baby albums and on refrigerators. The sonogram itself is an expected element of modern pregnancy. Pro-choice defenders argue that the fetus, not the pregnant woman, has become the major actor in this biological and cultural drama. Pro-life proponents, by contrast, embrace the fetus as the symbol of their struggle. They have employed ultrasound technology in the film The Silent Scream in order to highlight the personhood of the fetus and they use fetal imagery in their advertising campaigns.

Karol K. Weaver

Bibliography

Busch, A. (1995). Ethical fervor and the graphics of choice. Print, 49, 52–6.
Duden, B. (1993). Disembodying women: perspectives on pregnancy and the unborn, Hoinacki. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Kevles, B. H. (1997). Naked to the bone: medical imaging in the twentieth century. Addison Wesley, Reading, MA.

See also imaging techniques; ultrasound.