On an ultrasound of the right side, where is the axillary vein typically positioned on the screen?

• A. Head on the left of screen and right hand to the right
• B. Head on the right of screen and left hand to the left
• C. Head at the bottom of the screen and foot to the left
• D. Head at the top of the screen and arm at the bottom

Answer: (A)

Understanding how ultrasound images are displayed is the key. When you image the right upper extremity in a transverse view, most labs keep the probe marker oriented toward the patient’s head. With that convention, cephalad (toward the head) appears on the left side of the screen, and the side closer to the patient’s right arm appears on the right side. So the right axillary vein will show up with the head direction on the left and the arm direction on the right. This consistent mapping helps you interpret vessel location and relationships (vein vs artery) reliably across patients. If you rotated the probe or flipped the marker, the left-right positions would map differently, which is why this particular orientation is the standard reference.