Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
scintigram

scintigram

9.9
A medical scan that shows where a small safe radioactive material goes in the body
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪn.tɪ.ɡræm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : escintigrafía
  • A thyroid scintigram can help diagnose hyperthyroidism or thyroid cancer.

Examples

  • The patient was scheduled for a cardiac scintigram to assess blood flow to the heart.

  • The doctor reviewed the scintigram to locate areas of abnormal bone activity.

  • The patient's scintigram looked clear.

  • The doctor reviewed the patient's scintigram for abnormalities.

  • A thyroid scintigram can help diagnose hyperthyroidism or thyroid cancer.

  • The doctor reviewed the scintigram to locate areas of abnormal bone activity.

  • The patient was scheduled for a cardiac scintigram to assess blood flow to the heart.

Surface Forms

scintigram singular
scintigram plural
scintigrams plural
scintigram's singular

Morphology

scintigram = scintigraphy (opaque) = scinti + gram

The meaning is not directly derivable from its components without specialized knowledge in nuclear medicine.

Etymology

Scintigram comes from Latin scintilla meaning 'spark' and the ending -gram meaning 'written thing', as in telegram. Imagine tiny 'sparks' of radiation lighting detectors and being recorded as a picture. So a scintigram is an image made by recording those tiny 'sparks' from a radioactive tracer inside the body.