What does radiography mean?
Radiography is the process of creating images by recording radiation after it passes through an object or part of the body. The term is most often associated with X-rays and medical imaging, where radiography is used to examine bones, organs, and other internal structures for signs of injury or disease. It is also used in industry to inspect materials and locate defects that cannot be seen on the surface. A person who performs radiography is called a radiographer, while the adjective form is “radiographic.” The word is more technical than the everyday expression “X-ray,” and it may refer either to the imaging technique as a whole or, less commonly, to the resulting image. Although radiography does not provide the same kind of direct diagnosis as a laboratory test or physical examination, it has become an important diagnostic tool because it can reveal internal structures quickly and with relatively little intrusion.
nounThe process of producing images of the internal structures of objects or the body by passing radiation, especially X-rays, through them onto a sensitive recording surface. In medicine, it is used for diagnostic imaging.
- The technique or process of making an image by recording radiation, especially X-rays, after they pass through an object or part of the body.
- The resulting radiographic image or examination.
"Chest radiography revealed a possible infection in the patient's lungs."
"The technician performed radiography of the patient's wrist after the injury."
"Industrial radiography is used to detect cracks and other defects in metal components."
Plural radiographies is uncommon in ordinary prose but may refer to multiple radiographic images or separate radiographic procedures.
"The radiographies showed no signs of damage."
Radiography transformed medicine by allowing clinicians to see inside the body without making a single incision.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does radiography come from?
Radiography combines the element radi-, associated with rays and radiation, with the suffix -graphy, meaning writing or recording. The radi- element ultimately comes from Latin radius, meaning a ray or spoke, while -graphy derives from Greek graphia, related to graphein, “to write.” The word developed in the modern medical and scientific context after the discovery of X-rays, and it belongs to a family of terms that use the same root to describe radiation, imaging, and the study of radioactive substances.
Related word forms
How radiography is actually used
The term is most commonly used in medical and technical contexts. In everyday speech, people more often say “X-ray” or “X-ray imaging,” although radiography is preferred in professional writing when the procedure itself is being emphasized.
Easily confused with radiography
Radiography is the imaging technique itself, while radiology is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat disease.