Test, Imaging and Diagnosis Terms

A test result that reveals the presence of a specific disease or condition for which the test is being done.

A procedure in which a small amount of radioactive glucose (sugar) is injected into a vein, and a scanner is used to make detailed, computerized pictures of areas inside the body where the glucose…

A lab test to find out if cancer cells have progesterone receptors (proteins to which the hormone progesterone will bind).

An imaging test used to detect prostate cancer.

A blood test that measures the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a substance produced by the prostate and some other tissues in the body.

A noninvasive imaging method that provides information about cellular activity (metabolic information).

This blood test measures prostate specific antigen, a protein that can rise with prostate cancer but also with several noncancerous prostate conditions.

A test used to measure how well the lungs work.

Removal of a small disk-shaped sample of tissue using a sharp, hollow device.

A test that uses radiation or other imaging procedures to find signs of cancer or other abnormalities.

The name says radiation, yet several of the field's most used methods, ultrasound and magnetic resonance among them, involve none at all.

A test in which blood or urine samples are checked for the amounts of certain substances released by the kidneys.

One word covers several unrelated technologies, so the type of scan performed, not the word itself, decides what the pictures can show.

A test in which iodine is applied to the cervix.

X-rays of the breasts taken to check for breast cancer in the absence of signs or symptoms.

A test used to help diagnose problems in the pancreas, such as gastrinomas and pancreatitis.

The removal of fluid or tissue with a needle from the seminal vesicles for examination under a microscope.

Removal and examination of the sentinel node(s) (the first lymph node(s) to which cancer cells are likely to spread from a primary tumor).

A blood test that measures the amount of substances called tumor markers (or biomarkers).

A type of breast imaging test that is used to detect cancer cells in the breasts of some women who have had abnormal mammograms, or who have dense breast tissue.