What type of tissues typically appear hyperechoic in ultrasound?

In ultrasound imaging, hyperechoic tissues are those that reflect more sound waves back to the transducer, creating brighter areas on the ultrasound image. Bone and calcified structures are particularly hyperechoic because they have a high acoustic impedance compared to surrounding tissues. This means that they reflect a significant amount of the ultrasound waves, resulting in a strong return signal and a bright appearance on the scan.

Bone, for instance, is much denser than soft tissue, and its high mineral content provides excellent reflection of ultrasound waves, making it appear very bright. Similarly, calcifications, which are deposits of calcium salts within various tissues, also exhibit this hyperechoic characteristic due to their increased density compared to adjacent soft tissues.

Other options present tissues that do not typically reflect ultrasound waves in the same way. Fluid-filled organs would typically appear anechoic (dark) as they do not reflect sound well. Muscle tissues generally fall into the isoechoic range or can be slightly hypoechoic compared to highly reflective structures like bone. Fatty tissues may be somewhat hyperechoic, but typically they do not achieve the same level of brightness as bone and calcified structures. Thus, understanding the properties of different tissues helps in interpreting ultrasound images