Clinical Imaging Procedure Naming Conventions

This Editorial Guide is used for Education Purposes Only. It is used in the Authoring Courses and Certifications. It is based on the January 2026 Editorial Guide.

Almost all imaging procedures can be unambiguously expressed in a number of ways. There is a balance between flexibility in language and efficiency in terminology maintenance. Consequently, all variants for imaging modalities are not routinely included in SNOMED CT. Submissions for additional descriptions must be justified explicitly.

At a minimum, procedures are ordinarily expressed with the modality and body site. Existing content may have inconsistencies, but new content should following the naming conventions that follow.

The use of near synonyms is acceptable for clinical imaging procedures:

For example,

• 79516005 | Renal arteriography (procedure)| has the synonym renal angiography

• 726077005 | Computed tomography arteriography of bronchial artery (procedure)| has the synonym CT angiography of bronchial artery

• 709552006 | Computed tomography angiography of iliac artery (procedure)| has the synonym CT angiogram of iliac artery

Subpages

Imaging Adjustments for View, Projection, or TechniqueDiagnostic Imaging for Multiple Body SitesNuclear Medicine - Radionuclide ImagingMulti-modality Imaging: PET, CT and SPECT, CTSingle Photon Emission Computed Tomography - SPECTPositron Emission Tomography - PETFluoroscopy and Fluoroscopic Imaging

Imaging Guided Procedure NamingContrast for ImagingMagnetic Resonance Imaging - MRIComputed Tomography - CTUltrasonographyRadiographic Imaging, X-ray and Plain X-ray

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