Defining the 6-Point Lung Ultrasound Exam
In general, we recommend a 6-point exam for general lung ultrasound (Lichtenstein, 2014). However, for situations when assessing for COVID-19 or other viral pneumonia, the lung can be affected in a multi-lobar manner and you should consider doing a more extensive 12-point exam.
In this section, you will learn how to position your probes properly and identify basic structures. We label the 6 lung points at our institution for easy reference and labeling on the ultrasound machines. We refer to these points as R1, R2, R3 for the right lung and L1, L2, L3 for the left lung respectively.
| Probe Position | Lung Field |
| R1 and L1 | Anterior Superior |
| R2 and L2 | Lateral |
| R3 and L3 (PLAPS) | Posterior Inferior |
Lung Ultrasound Labeling
