Papers And Originals
Chromosome Breakage and Ultrasound
Br Med J 1971; 2 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.5760.501 (Published 29 May 1971) Cite this as: Br Med J 1971;2:501
- Elizabeth Boyd,
- Usama Abdulla,
- Ian Donald,
- J. E. E. Fleming,
- A. J. Hall,
- M. A. Ferguson-Smith
Abstract
Human lymphocyte cultures were examined for chromosome damage after exposure to ultrasound. Control and treated slides were scored “blind” and showed no evidence of damage due to ultrasound. Neither was there evidence of chromosome damage in blood cultures from six infants whose mothers had ultrasound during pregnancy when compared with that from six infants whose mothers had not. Our results suggest that if diagnostic ultrasound causes chromosome damage it does so with less frequency than acceptable levels of diagnostic x-irradiation.