Phlebogram

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A visual depiction that shows the circulation of blood within veins
2. A chart used diagnostically to represent venous blood flow patterns
3. An image that displays how blood moves through veins ; a diagnostic graph representing patterns of venous blood flow

Etymology: "Phlebogram" is a compound built from "phlebo-", a combining form drawn from Greek "phleps" (genitive "phlebos"), meaning "vein", and "-gram", from Greek "gramma", meaning "writing" or "drawing" in the sense of a recorded mark. Put together, the term describes a picture or record of the veins, the sort of image a clinician might obtain when studying blood flow through the body. The combining form "phlebo-" appears across medical vocabulary, such as "phlebitis" (inflammation of a vein) and "phlebotomy" (the cutting or opening of a vein for blood-letting or sampling). Because "-gram" is the same suffix found in words like "radiogram" and "angiogram", the pattern of the word is transparent: "phlebo-" names the subject, and "-gram" names the kind of image produced. The word is a modern technical coinage built from classical Greek roots rather than a term the ancient Greeks used.