Glossary
Radiologic Technologist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential radiologic technologist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key radiologic technologist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in radiologic technologist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- ALARA
- As low as reasonably achievable: the principle of keeping radiation dose to a minimum.
- AP and PA
- Anteroposterior and posteroanterior: the direction the beam travels through the body.
- Central ray
- The center of the X-ray beam, aimed at a specific anatomical point.
- Collimation
- Restricting the X-ray beam to the area of interest.
- Contrast media
- Substances that make certain structures visible on images.
- Dosimeter
- A badge that measures a worker’s radiation exposure over time.
- Exposure index
- A number that indicates whether an image received the right amount of radiation.
- Fluoroscopy
- Real-time X-ray imaging used during procedures and studies.
- Grid
- A device that reduces scatter radiation to improve image contrast.
- Image receptor
- The detector that captures the X-ray image.
- kVp
- Kilovoltage peak: controls the penetrating power of the X-ray beam.
- Lateral
- A side view.
- mAs
- Milliampere-seconds: controls the quantity of X-rays produced.
- PACS
- Picture archiving and communication system: stores and shares images.
- Radiograph
- An image produced by passing X-rays through the body onto a detector.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Radiologic Technologist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Radiologic Technologist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.