What does radiologist mean?
A radiologist is a doctor who specializes in radiology, the branch of medicine concerned with medical imaging. By examining X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, ultrasound images, and related images, radiologists identify signs of disease, injury, or other abnormalities and communicate their findings to other physicians. Their work supports diagnosis, guides treatment, and may involve interventional procedures performed under image guidance. Radiologists commonly work in hospital radiology departments alongside radiographers, who produce the images, and other medical specialists who treat the conditions revealed by those images. Although people sometimes use radiology as if it were the person reading a scan, the specialist responsible for interpreting diagnostic images and issuing a formal radiological interpretation is the radiologist. The word combines radi-, associated with radiation and radiographic imaging, with the specialist suffix -ist.
nounA medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries by interpreting medical images such as X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans, and ultrasound images.
- A physician specializing in radiology, especially one who interprets diagnostic medical images to identify disease, injury, or other abnormalities.
"The radiologist reviewed the scan and reported that the imaging showed no signs of a brain tumor."
"A radiologist examined the MRI images for evidence of a torn ligament."
"The hospital hired a pediatric radiologist with expertise in interpreting children's scans."
The regular plural is used when referring to multiple medical specialists.
"The radiologists reviewed the scans before the multidisciplinary team met."
A radiologist reads the body's internal story in pictures, turning scans into evidence that can guide diagnosis and treatment.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of radiologist
Radiologist was formed from radiology and the suffix -ist, meaning a specialist or practitioner. Radiology in turn developed from radi-, associated with radiation and X-rays, ultimately connected to the Latin radius, meaning ray. Its close vocabulary relatives include radiograph and radioactive, both of which share the same radiation-related root.
Related word forms
How radiologist is actually used
The term is standard in medicine. In British usage, radiologist may sometimes refer more broadly to a practitioner specializing in radiology, but the usual meaning remains a physician who interprets medical images.
Easily confused with radiologist
A radiologist is the physician who interprets medical images, whereas radiology is the medical discipline and the department in which radiologists work.
A radiologist interprets images and provides a medical diagnosis, while a radiographer performs imaging procedures such as taking X-rays.