Sonography of the clitoris.
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of invasive procedures in diagnosing female sexual dysfunctions and pathologies is high. There is a need for a less invasive evaluation tool and medical imaging of the clitoris may be a solution. The clitoris has already been studied with nuclear magnetic resonance but there are very few sonographic 2D and 3D studies despite the fact that it is a simple, noninvasive, and inexpensive method.


OBJECTIVE
This study aims at determining the feasibility of using ultrasound (US) techniques to image the clitoris in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of anatomy for possible use in study.


METHODS
The ultrasounds were performed in five healthy volunteers with the Voluson GE Sonography system (GE Healthcare Ultrasound, Zipf, Austria), using one 12-MHz flat probe.


METHODS
The clitoral body's diameter, the length of the raphe.


RESULTS
The three planes-the cross-section, sagittal section, and coronal section-were revealed making it possible to study the entire organ.


CONCLUSIONS
The sonography is a simple, inexpensive, noninvasive mean which might help for the evaluation of this organ.
Buisson
Odile
O
Centre d'échographie, Saint Germain en Laye, France. odilebuisson@yahoo.fr
Foldes
Pierre
P
Paniel
Bernard-Jean
BJ
D002987:Clitoris / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014621:Vagina / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016387:Women's Health