What does “Patent” mean on a radiology report?
Open and flowing normally — said of a blood vessel or other tube.
Why the radiologist wrote it that way
The standard word for confirming that something tubular is not blocked: a patent artery, a patent bile duct. It comes from the Latin for open and has nothing to do with inventions.
Is this good or bad news?
A normal, reassuring finding. On a scan looking for a clot or a blockage, "patent" is precisely the answer being sought.
What it does not mean
- Anything to do with patents. It is a false friend from ordinary English.
- Merely partially open — that would be described as narrowed or stenotic.
Where you will see it
Words in this phrase
One phrase is not the whole report
What this sentence means for you depends on everything else your report says. Radily reads the whole thing and explains it in plain English — and can talk you through it on video, so you are not reading medical language alone.
Other phrases on your report
- No acute intracranial abnormalityThe scan found nothing new or urgent inside the skull — no bleeding, no swelling, no sign of injury needing treatment today.
- UnremarkableNormal. There was nothing worth remarking on.
- Mild degenerative changesOrdinary age-related wear in the joints or spine — the kind almost everyone develops, to some degree, as they get older.
- No acute cardiopulmonary processThe 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.
This explains how a phrase is commonly used in radiology reports. It is not a diagnosis, not a reading of your scan, and not medical advice. Only your doctor can tell you what your own report means.