Revisiting ectopic pregnancy: a pictorial essay

Ectopic pregnancies occur in approximately 1.4% of all pregnancies and account for 15% of pregnancy-related deaths. Considering the high degree of mortality, recognizing an ectopic pregnancy is important. Signs and symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are nonspecific and include pain, vaginal bleeding, and an adnexal mass. Therefore, imaging can play a critical role in diagnosis. There are different types of ectopic pregnancies, which are tubal, cornual, cesarean scar, cervical, heterotopic, abdominal, and ovarian. Initial imaging evaluation of pregnant patients with pelvic symptoms is by ultrasonography, transabdominal, transvaginal or both. We review the sonographic appearance of different types of ectopic pregnancies that will aid in accurate and prompt diagnosis.