Medical Term Glossary
Plain-language explanations of the medical terms that appear on CT, MRI and X-ray reports — what each one means, when it matters, and what to ask your doctor.
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Ilium
The hip bone — the large, broad, fan-shaped bone that forms the upper, flaring part of the pelvis. Its top edge is the crest you rest your hands on at your waist. On a report it is usually just naming the upper pelvis. The word itself is plain anatomy.
Also: hip bone, ilia, iliac bone
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Ischium
This is the lower, back part of your pelvis, the bone you actually sit on. Each side has a rounded knob, often called the sit bone, that takes your weight in a chair. Reports name it to point to that lower rear part of the pelvis when describing a finding.
Also: ischial bone, lower pelvic bone, os ischii
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warning
Osteitis pubis
Inflammation and stress-related changes at the pubic symphysis, the joint where the two sides of the pelvis meet at the front. It's a common overuse injury in athletes, especially those who run, kick, or change direction repeatedly, causing groin or lower abdominal pain rather than a structural break.
Also: athlete's groin, groin osteitis, osteitis pubis syndrome
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Ovarian cyst
A fluid-filled sac that forms on or inside an ovary, usually as a normal part of the monthly cycle. Most are small, harmless, and disappear on their own within a few menstrual cycles without any treatment. They are one of the most frequently seen findings on pelvic imaging in women of reproductive age.
Also: corpus luteum cyst, cyst on the ovary, follicular cyst
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Phlebolith
A tiny, harmless calcified deposit that forms inside an old, small vein clot, most often seen scattered through the pelvis on a CT scan. It is an extremely common incidental finding with no relation to current illness and is frequently confused with a kidney or ureteral stone.
Also: calcified phlebolith, calcified vein clot, pelvic phlebolith
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PI-RADS
A 1-to-5 score radiologists give to areas of the prostate on MRI, rating how likely each is to be a significant cancer. A score of 1 or 2 is reassuring; 4 or 5 raises real concern and often leads to a targeted biopsy. It standardizes how prostate MRI findings are reported.
Also: pi-rads 4, pi-rads 5, pi-rads score
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Prostate calcification
Small, hardened deposits of calcium that have formed within the prostate gland, usually discovered by chance on an abdominal or pelvic CT scan done for another reason. They are extremely common in adult men, generally unrelated to cancer, and rarely require any treatment.
Also: calcified prostate, prostate calculi, prostate stones
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Prostatitis
Inflammation or infection of the prostate gland, the walnut-sized gland below the bladder in men, which can show up on MRI as signal changes within the gland. It's a common and usually treatable condition, though the underlying cause and best treatment vary from case to case.
Also: bacterial prostatitis, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, chronic prostatitis
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Pubis
This is the front part of your pelvis, the bone you can feel low down at the front, below the belly and above the groin. The left and right halves meet in the middle at a small joint. Reports name it to point to the front of the pelvic ring when describing a finding.
Also: front pelvic bone, os pubis, pubic bone
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urgent
Sacral insufficiency fracture
A crack in the sacrum — the triangular bone at the base of the spine — that develops from normal daily stress on bone that has been weakened, most often by osteoporosis. It causes significant low back or buttock pain and is often missed on X-ray, showing up more reliably on CT or MRI.
Also: SIF, insufficiency fracture of the sacrum, osteoporotic sacral fracture
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Sacroiliac joint
The paired joints that connect the lower spine (sacrum) to the back of the pelvis (iliac bones), one on each side. They sit deep in the lower back, transfer weight between the spine and the legs, and move very little. They are common to mention on scans and are a frequent source of low back and buttock pain.
Also: SI joint, SI joints, SIJ
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Testicular microlithiasis
Tiny calcium deposits scattered through the tissue of the testicle, usually found by chance on a scrotal ultrasound done for another reason. The spots themselves cause no symptoms and are not a tumor, but in some cases they are linked to a slightly higher lifetime risk of testicular cancer, so doctors may suggest periodic self-checks or follow-up imaging.
Also: TML, diffuse testicular microlithiasis, microlithiasis of the testis
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urgent
Testicular tumor
A mass or abnormal growth within the testicle, most often first found on ultrasound and then further evaluated with a pelvic or abdominal CT or MRI to check for spread. Most testicular tumors are cancerous, but they are also among the most treatable cancers when caught and managed promptly.
Also: germ cell tumor, scrotal mass, testicular cancer
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