An ultrasound note states the Doppler angle was taken in the sagittal plane. Which plane is this?

• A. Transverse
• B. Sagittal
• C. Coronal
• D. Oblique

Answer: (B)

Understanding plane orientation in ultrasound is about how you slice the body to follow a vessel. The sagittal plane is a vertical slice that splits the body into left and right portions and runs along the midline. When the Doppler angle is taken in this plane, you’re looking at a longitudinal view along the length of the vessel, which is ideal for assessing flow direction and velocity along that path.

A transverse (axial) plane shows a cross-section of the vessel, a coronal plane is a front-to-back slice, and an oblique plane is simply an angled view not aligned with the standard planes. Since the Doppler angle was taken in the sagittal plane, this identifies the orientation as sagittal.