ARRT Mammography flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Lay-language results letter

MQSA requires the facility to send each patient a written result summary in lay terms within 30 days of the examination; if cancer is suspected, direct contact is attempted as soon as possible.

BI-RADS category 0

Assessment category 0 means the study is incomplete and requires additional imaging evaluation or comparison with prior studies before a final assessment can be assigned.

BI-RADS category 3

A probably benign finding with a likelihood of malignancy under 2 percent; management is short-interval follow-up, typically repeat imaging in about six months.

Gail risk model

A risk-assessment tool estimating a woman's five-year and lifetime risk of invasive breast cancer from age, age at menarche, parity, family history, and prior breast biopsies.

Average lifetime breast cancer risk

In the United States about 1 in 8 women, roughly 13 percent, will develop invasive breast cancer during her lifetime; this figure defines average-risk screening recommendations.

Compression discomfort timing

Compression is applied gradually and peaks during the exposure, lasting only seconds; adequate compression decreases breast thickness, absorbed dose, scatter, and motion while improving image quality.

Vasovagal response management

If a patient becomes pale, diaphoretic, or dizzy during the examination, stop, lower the patient safely, elevate the legs, and monitor until symptoms resolve before continuing.

Pregnancy and lactation screening

Ask about pregnancy and breastfeeding before the examination; mammography is not contraindicated when clinically indicated in pregnancy, and scheduling after feeding reduces discomfort and milk leakage.

Number of breast lobes

Each breast contains 15 to 20 lobes, each composed of lobules that drain through lactiferous ducts converging at the nipple; Cooper ligaments suspend the gland within fat.

Tail of Spence

The upper outer extension of glandular breast tissue into the axilla; it must be included in the mediolateral oblique field and is a site where cancers may be missed.

Most common cancer quadrant

Roughly half of all breast cancers arise in the upper outer quadrant, which contains the greatest volume of glandular tissue and the axillary tail of Spence.

Lymphatic drainage of breast

About 75 percent of breast lymph drains to axillary lymph nodes; the remainder drains to internal mammary or parasternal nodes and, less commonly, posterior intercostal nodes.

Milk of calcium finding

A benign deposit of calcium suspended in tiny cysts that appears smudgy and amorphous on the craniocaudal view and crescent or teacup-shaped on the true 90-degree lateral view.

Spiculated mass margin

A mass margin with radiating lines extending outward from the lesion; it is highly suspicious for malignancy and usually leads to a BI-RADS 4 or 5 assessment and biopsy.

Fibroadenoma mammographic appearance

A common benign tumor in younger women appearing as an oval, circumscribed mass, sometimes with coarse popcorn-like calcification as it involutes; usually a BI-RADS 2 or 3 finding.

Inflammatory carcinoma signs

Presents with diffuse skin thickening, erythema, and peau d'orange rather than a discrete mass; mammography may show only skin change and increased density, so biopsy is required.

MQSA glandular dose limit

Mean glandular dose for a single craniocaudal or mediolateral oblique view must not exceed 3 mGy (0.3 rad) for a standard 4.2 cm breast of 50 percent glandular composition.

Focal spot sizes

Contact mammography uses a 0.3 mm nominal focal spot, while magnification imaging uses a 0.1 mm focal spot to reduce geometric unsharpness and improve spatial resolution.

Typical compression force

Acceptable compression is generally 111 to 200 newtons, or 25 to 45 pounds; the unit must be able to apply at least 111 newtons and stop automatically at its maximum.

Tungsten target benefit

Tungsten targets paired with rhodium or silver filters produce higher-energy spectra that penetrate dense or large breasts at lower dose while preserving adequate contrast.

Half-value layer requirement

Beam quality is verified by half-value layer, the aluminum thickness that halves exposure; the minimum is about 0.30 mm Al for molybdenum target and filter at 26 kVp.

AEC reproducibility standard

Automatic exposure control must reproduce exposures consistently, with a mAs coefficient of variation of 0.05 or less; the backup timer limits exposure time to prevent overexposure.

Grid ratio in mammography

Mammography grids typically have a ratio near 5:1 with 30 to 40 lines per centimeter and move during the exposure so grid lines are blurred out of the image.

kVp accuracy tolerance

The indicated kilovoltage peak must be accurate within plus or minus 5 percent of the measured value across the clinically used range, verified during quality control testing.

MLO view angle

The mediolateral oblique view uses a tube and receptor angle of about 45 to 60 degrees, with the receptor parallel to the pectoralis and its lower edge at the inframammary fold.

MLO acceptance criteria

The image shows the nipple in profile, the inframammary fold, and pectoralis muscle extending to the level of the nipple line, with no sagging or overlapping skin folds.

CC view criteria

The craniocaudal view must include all medial tissue to the cleavage line, the lateral tissue, nipple in profile, and retromammary fat, with the breast resting on the receptor.

Eklund implant-displaced technique

For patients with implants, the implant is pushed posteriorly against the chest wall while breast tissue is pulled forward over it, imaging glandular tissue with less implant overlap.

Exaggerated CC lateral view

A modified craniocaudal projection that shifts the breast laterally to include more outer quadrant tissue, used when the standard CC view excludes lateral breast.

Rolled views purpose

Views made by rotating the breast about its axis to spread overlapping tissue; medial and lateral rolls determine whether a finding is real, cutaneous, or due to superimposition.

Required mammogram labeling

Each image must display the facility name, patient identification, date, laterality, view designation, technologist identification, and machine or detector identification, clearly visible.

Motion artifact cause

Blurring caused by patient movement during the exposure; it degrades fine detail such as microcalcifications and is minimized by short exposure time, firm compression, and breath-hold instructions.