Definitions of confusing terms
- Atypia — Deviation from the normal or typical state.
- Benign — Of no danger to health, especially relating to a tumorous growth.
- Biopsy — Removal and examination, usually microscopic, of tissue from the living body, performed to establish precise diagnosis.
- Cystic — Pertaining to or containing cysts.
- Cysts — An abnormal closed epithelium-lined cavity in the body, containing liquid or semisolid material.
- Cyst Aspiration — The withdrawal of fluid from a mass, e.g. a cyst with a needle by suction.
- Diagnostic — Serving to identify a particular characteristic of a disease.
- Hyperplasia — Abnormal increase in the number of normal cells in normal arrangement in an organ or tissue, which increases its volume.
- Malignant — A tumor or lesion tending to metastasize; cancerous.
- Mammogram — An x-ray of the breast produced by mammography.
- MRI — Magnetic Resonance Imaging. A large circular imaging device using circular magnets and radio waves to generate signals from atoms in the body. These signals are used to construct internal images of the human body.
- MRI-guided biopsy — The removal of tissue using the MRI to find the lesion or tumor.
- Nuclear medicine — A subspecialty of radiology used to show the function and anatomy of body organs. Very small amounts of radioactive substances, or tracers, are detected with a special camera as they accumulate in certain organs and tissues.
- Osteopenia — A condition of bone in which there is a generalized reduction in bone mass that is less severe than that in osteoporosis caused by the loss of substance/ bone, by physiologic or pathologic means, at a rate that exceeds bone syntheses.
- Osteoporosis — Literally means “porous bones.” It occurs when bones lose an excessive amount of their protein and mineral content, particularly calcium.
- Pathologist — A doctor who specializes in the anatomic and chemical changes that occur with diseases. These doctors function in the laboratory, examining biopsy specimens.
- PET — Positron Emission Tomography is a scanning technique used in conjunction with small amounts of radiolabeled compounds. It is proving to be more accurate then other methods in the diagnosis of many types of cancer. In the treatment of cancer, PET can be used to determine more quickly than conventional tests whether a given therapy is working.
- Radiologists — A medical doctor specially trained in radiology (x-ray) interpretation and its use in the diagnosis of diseases and injuries.
- Sonographer — A medical technologist studied in the use of sonography.
- Stereotactic — Characterized by precision positioning in space.
- Stereotactic Biopsy — A biopsy taken by precisely locating areas of abnormal growth through the use of delicate instruments.
- Wire localization — In which a guide wire is placed into the suspicious area to help the surgeon locate the lesion for surgical biopsy.
