Medical terms and acronyms

Unless noted, terminology used in medical imaging content should be spelled out on the first reference. Include the acronym in parentheses, only if the term is used again in the content. On subsequent references, use the acronym.

Terms that are more familiar to members may be abbreviated on the first reference. Specific guidance is provided below.

Acronyms

When creating product names for marketing, avoid the use of acronyms.

Acronyms can be used in headlines but should be spelled out on first reference in body copy.

Example Headline: Register Today to Attend VOICE

Related Body Copy: Registration is open for the RSNA Value of Imaging through Comparative Effectiveness (VOICE) program.

If you use the full name in a headline with the acronym, the acronym can be used on first reference in body copy.

Disease conditions 

  • Alzheimer’s disease - AD after first reference
  • mild traumatic brain injury - MTBI after first reference
  • Parkinson’s disease - PD after first reference

General Science and Health Care

  • AUC – Area under the receiver’s operating curve; Can use acronym on first reference
  • health care – always used as two words
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - HIPAA after first reference
  • NIH Research Project Grant (R01) – spell out on first reference
  • Roentgen – spell with an e in all instances, not the umlaut (ö). The exception to this rule is reference to the name of the German Radiology Society, Röntgengesellschaft (DRG).

Imaging Modalities

  • MRI or MR imaging –acronym okay on first reference
  • 3T (no hyphen) for Tesla
  • diffusion tensor
  • diffusion weighted
  • T1 and T2 mapping
  • CT – acronym on first reference for computed tomography
  • single-photon emission CT - SPECT after first reference
  • PET/CT – not PET-CT; use acronym on first reference (also PET)
  • US – ultrasound; Does not need to be spelled out on first reference. Note: When referencing the United States, use periods between U.S. to differentiate.
  • X-ray - X-Ray in a headline, always capital X

Specialties/Subspecialties

  • Specialties (radiology) and subspecialties should always be lowercase unless part of a title or department name that should be capitalized in the given context. For example, breast imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, neuroradiology, etc.

Technology

  • 3D printing – no hyphen between 3D
  • augmented reality - AR on second reference
  • AI - artificial intelligence; Does not need to be spelled out on first reference
  • deep learning – capitalized in a headline; DL after first reference
  • machine learning – capitalized in a headline; ML after first reference
  • point-of-care or point-of-care tool – always hyphenated
  • ·virtual reality - VR on second reference