Wavelength Academy · Abdomen
The second look: gallbladder wall, bile duct and bladder
Four questions that come after you find the organ: is this thick gallbladder wall cholecystitis, is the bile duct dilated, is the bladder truly full and has it affected the kidneys, and is the material in the bladder clot or a lesion? Learn to measure correctly, use colour Doppler to separate duct from vessel, estimate bladder volume, and read each finding in context.
- 1 hour CPD
- 5 lessons
- 4 cases
- 12-question assessment
- Pass mark 80%
- Free
What you will learn
- Measure the gallbladder wall correctly and list the causes of wall thickening outside the gallbladder
- Recognise the pattern of acute calculous cholecystitis
- Identify the common bile duct with colour Doppler, measure it, and interpret it for age and cholecystectomy
- Estimate bladder volume, check the kidneys and troubleshoot a catheter
- Separate bladder clot from a wall lesion using movement and colour Doppler, and refer appropriately
Lessons
- Context: the second look5 min
- The gallbladder wall: read the pattern10 min
- The common bile duct: find the parallel channel10 min
- The full bladder: measure, then look upstream10 min
- Something in the bladder: move it, then add colour8 min
- Cases8 min
- Final assessment: 12 questions, pass mark 80%7 min
Who it is for
Emergency, acute and urgent care doctors, advanced clinical practitioners and physician associates who already find the gallbladder, kidneys and bladder, and want to answer the next question.
Your certificate
Pass the assessment and we email your certificate as a PDF: your name, the module, 1 hour 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
- Yokoe M, et al. Tokyo Guidelines 2018: diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis. Journal of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Sciences. 2018;25:41-54.
- Ralls PW, et al. Real-time sonography in suspected acute cholecystitis: prospective evaluation of primary and secondary signs. Radiology. 1985;155:767-71.
- van Breda Vriesman AC, et al. Diffuse gallbladder wall thickening: differential diagnosis. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2007;188:495-501.
- Bowie JD. What is the upper limit of normal for the common bile duct on ultrasound: how much do you want it to be? American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2000;95:897-900.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Suspected cancer: recognition and referral (NG12). Urological cancers.
- American College of Emergency Physicians. Ultrasound guidelines: emergency, point-of-care and clinical ultrasound guidelines in medicine. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2023.