Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
diaphanoscope

diaphanoscope

9.9
A tool that shines light through a part of the body to show thin walls
  • noun
  • /ˌdaɪəˈfænəˌskoʊp/
  • Archaic
: diáfanoscopio
  • The surgeon used a diaphanoscope to examine the patient's sinus cavity.

Examples

  • The doctor used a diaphanoscope to examine the patient's abdomen.

  • The structure of the organ's wall was observed by placing a diaphanoscope against it.

  • Researchers introduced the diaphanoscope to medical diagnostics in the late nineteenth century.

  • Have you ever seen a diaphanoscope in action?

  • The surgeon used a diaphanoscope to examine the patient's sinus cavity.

  • The structure of the organ's wall was observed by placing a diaphanoscope against it.

  • Researchers introduced the diaphanoscope to medical diagnostics in the late nineteenth century.

Synonyms

diascope
vsdiaphanoscope
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A device that shines light through thin objects like microscope slides so you can see details

focuses on lighting inside a cavity to assess wall translucency

Surface Forms

diaphanoscope singular
diaphanoscope plural

Morphology

diaphanoscope = scope (opaque) = diaphano + scope

The word is built on the familiar idea of a scope, but the combining form diaphano- is obscure and the medical meaning is highly specialized.

Etymology

Diaphanoscope comes from Greek parts dia- meaning 'through' and phan- meaning 'to show', plus -scope as in telescope meaning 'to look' or an instrument for looking. So a diaphanoscope 'shows through' body tissue by sending light into a cavity, which is why doctors use it to see how much light passes through a wall.