Radiology report phrases, explained
Radiology reports are written by one doctor for another, in a compact house style that has evolved to be precise rather than readable. Most of the sentences that frighten people are standard phrasing that means far less than it sounds like.
Each page below explains one phrase: what it means, why the radiologist chose those words, and — usually the reason you are here — what it does not mean.
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General explanations of common wording, not advice about your own scan. Ask the doctor who ordered it what your results mean for you.
What Radily gives back
Your chest CT report says
Scattered ground-glass opacities are noted in the bilateral upper lobes measuring up to 8mm. No consolidation, pleural effusion, or pneumothorax.
Radily explains
Your scan shows some small hazy areas in the upper part of both lungs. There is no solid patch of the kind pneumonia makes, no fluid around the lungs and no collapsed lung.
Ask your doctor: what might be causing the hazy areas, and do I need a follow-up scan?
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Usually normal findings
25Phrases that sound clinical but are how a radiologist says nothing is wrong.
- “No acute intracranial abnormality”The scan found nothing new or urgent inside the skull — no bleeding, no swelling, no sign of injury needing treatment today.
- “Unremarkable”Normal. There was nothing worth remarking on.
- “Mild degenerative changes”Ordinary age-related wear in the joints or spine — the kind almost everyone develops, to some degree, as they get older.
- “No acute cardiopulmonary process”The chest X-ray shows no new problem with the heart or lungs — no pneumonia, no fluid around the lungs, no collapsed lung, and a heart that looks a normal size.
- “Grossly normal”Normal as far as this scan can show at the level of detail it provides.
- “No evidence of acute fracture”No broken bone was seen on this scan.
- “Degenerative disc disease”Normal age-related drying and flattening of the cushions between the spinal bones — despite the name, not a disease in the usual sense.
- “No focal consolidation”No patch of lung looks filled with fluid or infection — in practice, no visible pneumonia.
- “Within normal limits”Measured or assessed, and the result falls inside the normal range.
- “No mass effect or midline shift”Nothing inside the skull is pushing the brain out of position.
- “Trace”The smallest amount that can be seen — barely there.
- “No interval change”Nothing has changed since your previous scan.
- “Stable”The same as last time.
- “Sequelae of”The leftover traces of something that happened in the past.
- “No acute osseous abnormality”No new bone injury was seen — no fresh break, no collapse, nothing urgent involving the bones.
- “Patent”Open and flowing normally — said of a blood vessel or other tube.
- “Calcified granuloma”A tiny scar, hardened with calcium, left behind by an old infection or inflammation that has long since healed.
- “Simple cyst”A thin-walled sac of clear fluid with no solid parts — one of the most common, and most reliably harmless, findings on a scan.
- “Diverticulosis without diverticulitis”There are small pouches in the wall of the bowel, but none of them is inflamed or infected.
- “No free fluid”There is no loose fluid collecting in the abdomen or pelvis — a normal finding.
- “No hydronephrosis”The kidneys are not swollen with backed-up urine, which means there is no sign of a blockage in the urine drainage from them.
- “Nonobstructive bowel gas pattern”The gas in the bowel is spread the way it normally is, with no sign of a blockage.
- “No restricted diffusion”The MRI shows no sign of an acute stroke, or of the other conditions that show up as bright spots on the diffusion images.
- “Hepatic hemangioma”A benign tangle of blood vessels in the liver — the most common non-cancerous liver lump, usually found by chance.
- “Bone island”A small, harmless spot of extra-dense bone inside a normal bone — a variant some people are simply born with or develop.
Descriptive, no verdict
16Jargon that records a fact or a piece of history and carries no judgement at all.
- “Clinical correlation is recommended”The radiologist is saying: here is what the pictures show, and now the doctor who knows your symptoms needs to decide what it means for you.
- “Incidental finding”Something the scan picked up that has nothing to do with the reason you were scanned.
- “Consistent with”The appearance fits the named condition — usually one your doctor already suspected.
- “Status post”Simply means "after". You have had the procedure or operation named.
- “Motion degraded study”Movement during the scan blurred the images, so parts of the study are harder to read.
- “Age indeterminate”The scan can see the finding but cannot tell how old it is.
- “Probable”The radiologist thinks this is most likely what it is, without being certain.
- “Impression”The radiologist’s summary and conclusion — the part to read first if you read only one part.
- “Bibasilar atelectasis”Small areas at the bottom of both lungs are not fully inflated — usually because of shallow breathing, lying down, or recent surgery.
- “Disc bulge”A spinal disc extends slightly beyond the edges of the bones around it, evenly across a wide part of its rim — an extremely common, often age-related appearance.
- “Limited study”Something about the scan reduced how much the radiologist could see clearly, so the report comes with a caveat about what it can and cannot answer.
- “No prior studies for comparison”The radiologist had no earlier scan of the same area to compare with, so every finding is described as it looks today.
- “Modic changes”Changes in the bone right next to a spinal disc (the endplates), seen on MRI and graded as type 1, 2 or 3.
- “Apical pleural thickening”A thin cap of scar-like tissue at the very top of the lung lining — common, especially with age, and usually long-standing.
- “Age-related volume loss”The brain looks slightly smaller than it would in a young adult, in a way that is typical for the person’s age.
- “Small joint effusion”A little more fluid than usual inside a joint — a common, often minor finding that can come with irritation or minor injury.
Depends on context
17Real findings whose meaning the images alone cannot settle. Often the most frightening to read, and often the least conclusive.
- “Cannot be excluded”The images are not able to completely rule this out — which is a statement about the limits of the scan, not a suggestion that it is likely.
- “Nonspecific”The finding is real, but its appearance is not distinctive enough to say what is causing it.
- “Small pleural effusion”A small amount of fluid has collected in the space between the lung and the chest wall.
- “Hepatic steatosis”Fat has built up in the liver — commonly called fatty liver.
- “Small vessel ischemic changes”Small spots in the brain’s white matter, very common with age, reflecting changes in the smallest blood vessels.
- “Pulmonary nodule”A small round spot in the lung — usually well under an inch across, and in most cases harmless.
- “Hypodense lesion”An area that looks darker than the tissue around it on a CT scan.
- “T2 hyperintensity”An area that appears bright on one particular type of MRI image — usually meaning it holds more water than the tissue around it.
- “Prominent lymph nodes”Lymph nodes that look a little larger than average, but not clearly abnormal.
- “Borderline”A measurement sitting right at the edge between normal and abnormal.
- “Subcentimeter nodule”A small round spot less than one centimetre (10 mm) across — most often seen in the lung, thyroid or liver, and usually harmless.
- “Mild cardiomegaly”The heart’s outline on the image looks slightly larger than the usual range — which may reflect a real enlargement, or simply how the picture was taken.
- “Disc protrusion”Part of a spinal disc pushes out beyond its normal edge in one focal area — a type of disc herniation, and a common finding on spine MRI.
- “Enhancing lesion”An area that lit up after contrast dye was given, meaning it has a blood supply or is letting the dye through — a description, not a diagnosis.
- “Neural foraminal narrowing”One of the side openings that spinal nerves leave through is narrower than usual — graded mild, moderate or severe.
- “Hyperinflated lungs”The lungs look larger than usual and hold more air than normal on the image — sometimes from a very deep breath, sometimes from a long-term airway condition.
- “Bone marrow edema”An area inside a bone holding more fluid than usual on MRI — a sign the bone is reacting to something, such as a bruise, stress or arthritis.
Usually comes with a next step
2Phrases that normally arrive with a recommendation. The thing that matters is that the recommendation is not lost.
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These pages explain how phrases are commonly used in radiology reporting. They are not a diagnosis and not medical advice. Discuss your own results with your doctor.