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Medicine vocabulary · Diagnosis and Tests

Screening

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˈskriːnɪŋ/nounCommon term

In medicine, screening means: Testing people who have no symptoms in order to find a disease or risk early, when treatment is more likely to help.

In Turkish: tarama

How it is used

Used for programmes such as breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening, newborn screening and screening for diabetes. People are 'invited for' or 'offered' screening. A positive screening test usually needs a further diagnostic test.

Example sentences

  1. She was called for breast screening at the age of 50.

  2. Screening picked up the cancer before it caused any symptoms.

Common collocations

  • cancer screening
  • screening programme
  • screening test
  • newborn screening
  • be invited for screening
  • asymptomaticHaving a disease or a positive test but no symptoms; also used for a patient whose symptoms have gone.
  • cancerA disease in which abnormal cells grow out of control, can destroy nearby tissue and may spread to other parts of the body.
  • risk factorAnything that makes a person more likely to develop a disease, such as smoking, high blood pressure, age or family history.
  • diagnosisThe decision about which disease or condition is causing a patient's problems, reached after taking a history, examining the patient and doing tests.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Diagnosis and Tests

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