Extras · 1 of 4

A typical day

Ten to 14 patients in a dim room. A 20-week pregnancy scan, a gallbladder, a thyroid, a leg with a suspected clot, then an urgent call from the emergency department. Each scan is 20 to 45 minutes with the probe pressed hard against the patient and your arm held out. You take the images, write a preliminary report, and hand it to the radiologist. When the patient asks what you saw, you are not allowed to say.