ultrasonics

ultrasonics /ul·tra·son·ics/ (-son´iks) the science dealing with ultrasonic sound waves.

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ul·tra·son·ics (ltr-snks)

n.

1. The acoustics of ultrasonic sound.

2. The science and technology that deals with ultrasound.

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ultrasonics

[-son′iks]

the science dealing with sound waves having frequencies above the approximately 20-kHz range of human hearing. Ultrasound evolved from the World War II sonar underwater detection apparatus and was first adapted for medical diagnostic purposes in the 1950s. It uses a transducer and generates very short pulses of high-frequency sound that are transmitted into the body. Echoes from interfaces within the body are displayed on a cathode ray tube so that images of normal and abnormal structures can be viewed.

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ultrasonics [ul″trah-son´iks]

that part of the science of acoustics dealing with the frequency range beyond the upper limit of perception by the human ear, i.e. above 20,000 hertz (cycles per second), but usually restricted to frequencies above 50,000 hertz. Ultrasonic radiation is injurious to tissues because of its thermal effects when absorbed by living matter, but in controlled doses it can be used therapeutically to selectively break down pathologic tissues, as in treatment of arthritis and lesions of the nervous system, and also as a diagnostic aid by visually displaying echoes received from irradiated tissues, as in echocardiography. See also ultrasonography.

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ultrasonics

that part of the science of acoustics dealing with the frequency range beyond the upper limit of perception by the human ear (above 20,000 cycles per second), but usually restricted to frequencies above 50,000 hertz. Ultrasonic radiation is injurious to tissues because of its thermal effects when absorbed by living matter, but in controlled doses it is used therapeutically to selectively break down pathological tissues, as in treatment of arthritis and lesions of the nervous system, and also as a diagnostic aid by visually displaying echoes received from irradiated tissues, as in echocardiography and echoencephalography. See also ultrasonography.