Abbreviations for carotid doppler

General Doppler Terms
PSV – Peak Systolic Velocity
EDV – End Diastolic Velocity
RI – Resistive Index
PI – Pulsatility Index
TAMV – Time-Averaged Mean Velocity
ICA/CCA Ratio – Internal Carotid Artery to Common Carotid Artery PSV Ratio

Arteries
CCA – Common Carotid Artery
ICA – Internal Carotid Artery
ECA – External Carotid Artery
VA – Vertebral Artery
SCA – Subclavian Artery
CBT – Carotid Body Tumor

Veins
IJV – Internal Jugular Vein
SCV – Subclavian Vein
BCV – Brachiocephalic Vein

Pathology / Other
AVM – Arteriovenous Malformation
FMD – Fibromuscular Dysplasia
OCC – Occlusion
STEN – Stenosis
ANR – Aneurysm
PSAN – Pseudoaneurysm
DIS – Dissection

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Pathology / Other
AVM – Arteriovenous Malformation: Congenital or acquired abnormal communication between an artery and a vein, bypassing the capillary bed. On Doppler, shows multiple tortuous channels with color aliasing, arterialized venous flow, and low resistance waveforms.

FMD – Fibromuscular Dysplasia: Non-atherosclerotic, non-inflammatory vascular disease causing abnormal growth in arterial walls. Classically involves the distal ICA, producing a “string-of-beads” appearance with alternating stenoses and dilatations. More common in young females.

OCC – Occlusion: Complete obstruction of an artery by thrombus, plaque, or dissection flap. Ultrasound shows echogenic intraluminal material, absent color flow, and no detectable Doppler signals distal to the occlusion.

STEN – Stenosis: Hemodynamically significant narrowing of the arterial lumen, often due to atherosclerotic plaque. Doppler shows elevated peak systolic velocity (PSV), spectral broadening, post-stenotic turbulence, and aliasing in color Doppler.

ANR – Aneurysm: True focal dilatation of an artery involving all three wall layers (intima, media, adventitia). May present as fusiform or saccular. On ultrasound, appears as a localized dilated segment with swirling flow or mural thrombus.

PSAN – Pseudoaneurysm: False aneurysm where blood escapes through an arterial wall defect but is contained by the adventitia or surrounding tissue. Characterized by a “yin–yang” flow pattern on color Doppler and a to-and-fro waveform at the neck.

DIS – Dissection: Separation of the arterial wall layers due to an intimal tear, forming a true and false lumen. On ultrasound, an intimal flap may be seen with differential flow patterns in each lumen; can lead to stenosis, occlusion, or aneurysm formation.