In Nigeria, patients are routinely handed their paper printouts of radiology reports to take back to their referring doctors. Reading your own report before seeing your doctor is natural, but medical jargon can be highly intimidating. Many patients search these terms online and panic unnecessarily.
Here is an explanation of the most common terms used in radiology reports, translated into plain English.
Terms that mean everything is normal
- "Unremarkable" or "Within normal limits": This is the best possible news. It simply means that the radiologist looked at that organ or structure and found absolutely nothing wrong, abnormal, or unusual.
- "No acute pathology" or "No acute findings": This means there is no sign of sudden, urgent, or life-threatening disease (such as a fresh fracture, bleeding, or acute infection).
- "Grossly normal": This means that when looking at the overall structure (the "gross" appearance), it looks healthy.
Terms that describe variations and findings
- "Incidental finding": This is an unexpected finding that is unrelated to the reason you had the scan. For example, if you had a kidney ultrasound for back pain and the doctor noticed a small, harmless cyst on your liver, that is an incidental finding. Most incidental findings are benign (harmless) and require no treatment.
- "Clinical correlation recommended": You will see this at the end of many reports. It means that the imaging findings alone cannot provide a complete diagnosis. The radiologist is advising your referring doctor to combine the scan results with your physical exam, symptoms, and blood tests to make the final decision.
- "Correlation with prior images": The radiologist wants to compare the new scan with your older scans (if you have them) to see if a finding is new or has remained unchanged over several years.
Terms that describe stability
- "Stable": In medicine, "stable" is good news. It means a known condition (like a fibroid, cyst, or tumor) has not grown, changed, or worsened since your last scan.
- "Resolved": This means a past abnormality (like a pocket of fluid, infection, or hematoma) has completely disappeared.
A practical close
A radiology report is a technical document written for doctors, not patients. Avoid self-diagnosing or panicking over complex terms. Always wait to discuss the report with your referring doctor, who can explain what the findings mean in the context of your overall health.