Colonscopy and colonography: back to the roots

C.P. Anastassiades 1, F. Cremonini 2, D. Hadjinicolaou 3

1 Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan (USA)
2 Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
3 Department of Greek, The English School Nicosia, Nicosia (Cyprus)

---

• Gastroenterology

Abstract. – “Colonoscopy” and “colonography” refer to the endoscopic and radiological examination of the colon respectively. Medical terminology constructs words using original roots from the source languages, which are often Greek or Latin. The word root is the fundamental portion of the term. Multiplication of modern tests and procedures has led to confusion in the application of word roots in medical terminology. This short review (1) analyzes, (2) challenges the established terms “colonoscopy” and “colonography”, and (3) proposes a wording adherent to the rules of terminology in order to avoid confusion.

Corresponding Author: Constantinos P. Anastassiades, MD; e-mail: conanast@med.umich.edu