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Glite Dictionary
🧂 Glass powder 🪟 Frosted glass 🫁 Hazy lung area
ground glass

ground glass

7.4
A hazy area on a lung scan that partly hides lung tissue but shows vessels
  • noun
  • /ɡraʊnd ɡlæs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : opacidad en vidrio esmerilado
  • By definition, acute exacerbation is characterized by new bilateral diffuse ground-glass opacities and consolidation on high-resolution CT (Figure 6).
  • ground glass appearance

Examples

  • PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Figure 2: CT chest showing mediastinal lymph nodes and ground glass appearance of both lung fields.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The patient's CT scan of her chest revealed bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy and scattered bilateral ground-glass opacifications (Figure 1).

    Academic text (2007)

  • Ground glass in the borscht?

    Academic text (2007)

  • If I could only decipher those codes; ground glass in the borscht, guys orienting themselves by the thunder, what could that be?

    Academic text (2007)

  • Also, there were small bilateral pleural effusions and a ground glass appearance of both lung fields, more pronounced on the left side (figure II).

    Academic text (2007)

  • The patient's CT scan showed a clear ground glass opacity in the lower lobe of the left lung, indicating a possible infection.

  • During the examination, the radiologist noted multiple areas of ground glass appearance on the scan, which suggested interstitial lung disease.

  • The imaging results revealed a significant ground glass density, allowing visualization of the underlying vascular structures in the lungs.

How Opaque

consolidation
  • Specialized
1 6.7
ground glass
  • Specialized
7.4
hazy
49 3.9

Surface Forms

ground glass singular
ground glasses plural

Morphology

grind + glass

The term is a straightforward descriptive compound: 'ground' (i.e., glass that has been abraded or frosted) + 'glass' conveys a translucent, hazy surface. The radiological sense is a direct visual metaphor — a lung area that looks like frosted/ground glass — so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reasonably infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Ground glass in medicine is a simple comparison: doctors say a lung area looks like 'ground' or 'frosted' glass because you can still see shapes but not clear detail. That's why a 'ground-glass' spot on a scan means a light, hazy area where blood vessels or airways are still partly visible.