Cystographies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medical imaging technique used to visualize the bladder and urinary system through contrast media
2. Referring to the series of X-ray images taken after injecting a contrast agent into the bladder to assess its condition
3. A diagnostic procedure involving the capture of images to evaluate abnormalities in the urinary tract using radiographic methods

Etymology: "Cystographies" is the plural of "cystography," a medical imaging technique in which contrast material is introduced into the bladder so that it shows up on X-rays. The word is built from two Greek-derived elements: "cysto-," from Greek "kystis," meaning bladder or sac, and "-graphy," from Greek "graphia," meaning writing or recording. Put together, the term literally means a recording of the bladder. The second element is the one doing most of the work across modern medicine. "-graphy" turns up in names for many imaging methods, such as radiography and mammography, where it signals a picture made by a particular technique rather than writing in the everyday sense. "Cystography" follows that pattern exactly, applying the suffix to the bladder, the organ named by the "cysto-" part.

Synonyms: bladder x-rays, cystograms