Meaning & use
echogenicity
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
How strongly a tissue or object sends back sound waves in an ultrasound scan, which decides how bright it looks on the image.
Grammar: A mass noun: the echogenicity of the liver.
Patterns
- the echogenicity of something
- increased echogenicity
The scan showed increased echogenicity in the liver.
Bone has high echogenicity, so it looks bright on an ultrasound.
The radiologist compared the echogenicity of the lump with the tissue around it.
Common combinations
- increased echogenicity
- The report noted increased echogenicity in the kidney.
- decreased echogenicity
- Decreased echogenicity can appear when tissue contains fluid.
- mixed echogenicity
- The nodule had mixed echogenicity.
- normal echogenicity
- The thyroid showed normal echogenicity.
- echogenicity of the tissue
- The doctor measured the echogenicity of the tissue.
Synonyms and how they differ
- echo brightness
- This is an informal, plain description of the same idea, while echogenicity is the exact medical term.
- echotexture
- Echotexture describes the overall pattern of echoes in a tissue, while echogenicity is about how bright they are.
- ultrasound density
- This is a loose descriptive phrase and is not used in formal reports, where echogenicity is the standard word.
Word family
Commonly confused: echogenicity or echocardiography?
echogenicity vs echocardiography
Echocardiography is an ultrasound scan of the heart, while echogenicity is a property of any tissue in a scan.
Practice
A radiologist reports that a tissue has increased echogenicity. What does this mean on the scan?
Choose one answer.
Higher echogenicity means the tissue bounces back more sound waves, so it looks brighter. Darker areas would be described as having decreased echogenicity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “echogenicity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.