Okuzeka
Medicine vocabulary · Diagnosis and Tests

Rule out

Meaning in medicine, with examples

phrasal verbCore term

In medicine, rule out means: To show with a history, an examination or a test that a patient does not have a particular disease, so it can be removed from the list of possibilities.

In Turkish: ekarte etmek, dışlamak

How it is used

Heard on every ward round: 'We need to rule out a PE.' Often written R/O in US notes. The opposite is 'rule in'. The object can go in the middle: 'rule it out'.

Example sentences

  1. We did a CT scan to rule out a bleed in the brain.

  2. A normal troponin this early doesn't completely rule out a heart attack.

  3. Infection was ruled out, so we're now looking for an autoimmune cause.

Common collocations

  • rule out infection
  • rule out a fracture
  • rule in
  • ruled out by
  • differential diagnosisA list of the possible diseases that could explain a patient's symptoms and signs, which the doctor narrows down with tests and more questions.
  • diagnosisThe decision about which disease or condition is causing a patient's problems, reached after taking a history, examining the patient and doing tests.
  • investigationA test or examination, such as a blood test or a scan, done to find the cause of a patient's problem or to check their condition.
  • blood testA laboratory check of a blood sample, taken from a vein or a fingertip, to measure things like blood cells, sugar, salts or markers of infection.

More terms: Diagnosis and Tests

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.