Items tagged “terminology”

Cervical incompetence refers to a painless spontaneous dilatation of the cervix and is a common cause of second trimester pregnancy failure. Epidemiology The estimated incidence varies geographically and generally thought to be around 1-1.5% of all pregnancies 1,15. Clinical presentation Typ...

Sprain refers to an injury of ligaments and capsules and should not be confused with the strain which refers to an injury to muscles and their tendons. These terms should not be used interchangeably. Location Knee, ankle and acromioclavicular joints are the most common location of the ligament...

Strain refers to injury of muscles and tendons and should not be confused with sprain which refers to injury to ligaments and capsules. One way to remember the distinction is that strain (with a T) is for tendons (which attach to muscle). These terms should not be used interchangeably lest you ...

A Rokitansky nodule or dermoid plug refers to a solid protuberance projecting from an ovarian cyst in the context of mature cystic teratoma. It often contains calcific, dental, adipose, hair, and/or sebaceous components 1. This region has the highest propensity to undergo malignant transformatio...

The interlobular septa (singular: interlobular septum) are located between the secondary pulmonary lobules and are continuous with both the subpleural interstitium (peripheral connective tissue) and the peribronchovascular interstitium (axial connective tissue) as well as the more delicate intra...

The intralobular septa (sing: septum) are delicate strands of connective tissue separating adjacent pulmonary acini and primary pulmonary lobules. They are continuous with the interlobular septa which surround and define the secondary pulmonary lobules.  See also HRCT terminology

Pulmonary acinus is commonly defined as the portion of lung distal to a terminal bronchiole and supplied by a first-order respiratory bronchiole or bronchioles 1.  Each secondary pulmonary lobule usually contains 3-12 acini, and adjacent acini are separated by incomplete intralobular septa. See...

The centrilobular region, in context of the lungs and HRCT, refers to the central portion of the secondary pulmonary lobule, around the central pulmonary artery and bronchiole.  See also HRCT terminology

Parenchymal bands are a HRCT finding. They can be commonly encountered among patients with asbestosis. They are typically over 2 cm in length (up to 5 cm), 1-3 mm thick and run through the lung parenchyma and usually extend from a visceral pleural surface 6. They are formed in a number of ways ...

The corpus luteum (plural: corpora lutea) is a temporary endocrine structure involved in ovulation and early pregnancy. During ovulation, the primary follicle forms the secondary follicle and subsequently the mature vesicular follicle. At ovulation the follicle ruptures expelling the ovum into...

The term cervical stenosis can refer to: stenosis of the uterine cervix bony cervical canal stenosis (cervical spinal stenosis)

Fracture-a-la-signature (or signature fracture) is another term used to described a depressed skull fracture.  Fracture-a-la-signature derives its name from forensic medicine because the size and shape of a depressed skull fracture may give information on the type of weapon used. It can be a si...

The Terminologia Anatomica (TA) is the global standard for correct gross anatomical nomenclature in humans 1. The second edition was published by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology in 2019 4.  The standard anatomical terms are from Latin and Ancient Greek roots. T...

Modality is the term used in radiology to refer to one form of imaging, e.g. CT. It is often used in the plural form, e.g. "various modalities can be employed to evaluate this liver lesion." More generally, in clinical medicine, the term 'modality' is used for different types of procedures and ...

The term pathognomonic in radiology, as well as clinical medicine in general, refers to a finding or a sign that is only found in a single specific condition or specific group of conditions, i.e. the finding has 100% specificity. Thus by implication, a pathognomonic finding cannot and does not h...

Gamuts in radiology refer to the complete list of differential diagnoses for any radiological finding. We include gamut as a section for articles on Radiopaedia.org. History and etymology According to Maurice Reeder, writing in the preface of his own eponymous text on gamuts, it was the trailb...

An interstitial lung abnormality (ILA) is an imaging descriptor often encapsulating several imaging patterns of increased lung density / attenuation detected on chest CT scans in patients with no prior or established history of interstitial lung disease. Terminology It is considered a relative...