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Wavelength Academy · Abdomen

Acute abdominal pain: aorta, gallbladder, kidneys and bowel

Six focused scans for the patient with abdominal pain: the aorta, the gallbladder, the kidneys and ureteric jets, small bowel obstruction, the appendix and, in children, intussusception. Learn what each scan rules in, what it cannot rule out, and when to escalate.

  • 1.5 hours CPD
  • 6 lessons
  • 5 cases
  • 16-question assessment
  • Pass mark 80%
  • Free

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What you will learn

  • Scan the whole abdominal aorta and recognise an aneurysm of 3 cm or more
  • Find the gallbladder using the main lobar fissure and recognise the signs of cholecystitis
  • Grade hydronephrosis, separate it from its mimics, and use ureteric jets in suspected renal colic
  • Recognise small bowel obstruction and the features of complications
  • Recognise appendicitis and intussusception, and act safely on a non-diagnostic scan

Lessons

  1. Context: rule in, rarely rule out8 min
  2. The aorta: see the whole length12 min
  3. The gallbladder: follow the fissure12 min
  4. The kidneys and ureteric jets17 min
  5. Small bowel obstruction12 min
  6. The appendix and intussusception14 min
  7. Cases15 min
  8. Final assessment: 16 questions, pass mark 80%10 min

Who it is for

Emergency, acute and urgent care doctors, advanced clinical practitioners and physician associates who assess adults and children with abdominal pain.

Your certificate

Pass the assessment and we email your certificate as a PDF: your name, the module, 1.5 hours of CPD, the date and a code anyone can check at thewavelength.co.uk/elearning/verify. Upload it to your e-portfolio with a short reflection. Wavelength issues the certificate itself. It is not accredited by an external body, so record the hours as self-directed CPD under your own college or regulator's rules. The certificate records completed learning. Sign-off to scan independently stays with your department.

About this module

Author. Dr Firas Abou-Auda, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Course Director, Wavelength.
Published. October 2026. Next review. October 2028.
Conflicts of interest. Dr Firas Abou-Auda is Course Director of Wavelength, which runs paid ultrasound courses.

References

  1. Smith-Bindman R, et al. Ultrasonography versus computed tomography for suspected nephrolithiasis. New England Journal of Medicine. 2014;371:1100-10.
  2. Fields JM, et al. Accuracy of point-of-care ultrasonography for diagnosing acute appendicitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2017.
  3. Lin-Martore M, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound for intussusception in children presenting to the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2020;21:1008-16.
  4. NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme. Aneurysm size thresholds and surveillance.
  5. European Association of Urology. Guidelines on urolithiasis: management of sepsis and anuria in obstructed kidneys. 2024.
  6. American College of Emergency Physicians. Ultrasound guidelines: emergency, point-of-care and clinical ultrasound guidelines in medicine. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2023.
  7. Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Point-of-care ultrasound appendix to the RCEM curriculum.

Read the free Wavelength Pearl on this topic