Scans and heart tests
Mammogram results and BI-RADS categories explained
Mammogram reports follow a standard format: a description of breast density, the findings, and a numbered BI-RADS category with a recommendation. Add your report below to see each part restated in plain language.
Explain your mammogram report
- 1. Add itDrop a PDF, take a photo or paste the text.
- 2. Check itPersonal details are removed on your device. You approve what is sent.
- 3. Read itSummary, table of results, terms and questions to ask.
The explainer opens on its own page with no adverts and no outside scripts. Your file is read on your device and is never uploaded.
What you get
- The breast density statement explained.
- Each finding restated, with terms such as asymmetry and calcification defined.
- The BI-RADS category and what that category number stands for.
- The recommendation quoted as written, so you know the next step the radiologist suggests.
What the report contains
- Screening or diagnosticA routine check, or a closer look at a specific area
- Breast composition (A to D)How much dense tissue there is compared with fatty tissue
- Mass, calcifications, asymmetry, architectural distortionThe standard words for things seen on the image
- BI-RADS 0Incomplete, more imaging needed
- BI-RADS 1 and 2Negative, or a finding the radiologist considers benign
- BI-RADS 3, 4 and 5Probably benign with short-term follow-up, suspicious, and highly suspicious
What this tool cannot tell you
A BI-RADS category is the radiologist's assessment of the images. It is not a diagnosis, and only further imaging or a biopsy can say what a finding is. MedicDecode restates the report. If yours recommends more imaging, a biopsy or a short-interval follow-up, contact your doctor or the imaging centre promptly to arrange it.
Common questions
What does BI-RADS category 2 mean?
Benign: the radiologist saw something, such as a cyst or a calcification, and is confident it is not cancer. Routine screening usually continues.
What is the best BI-RADS score?
Category 1 (negative: nothing to comment on) and category 2 (benign findings) both mean routine screening, usually with no extra tests.
What does BI-RADS 0 mean?
The assessment is incomplete and more pictures are needed, such as extra mammogram views or an ultrasound. It is a request for more information, not a result.
What does dense breast tissue mean?
It describes how much glandular and fibrous tissue shows on the mammogram compared with fat. Dense tissue is common and can make a mammogram harder to read.
Will it tell me if a finding is cancer?
No. It explains the words and the category on your report. Your doctor will tell you what the finding means and what happens next.
Words you may see on this report
Tap a word for its plain-English meaning, an example line and what it does not mean.
- BI-RADS
BI-RADS is a scoring system from 0 to 6 used on mammogram, breast ultrasound and breast MRI reports to describe findings and next steps.
- Atelectasis
Atelectasis means part of a lung is not fully expanded, so the small air sacs there are partly or completely deflated.
- Cardiomegaly
Cardiomegaly means the heart looks larger than expected, usually on a chest X-ray, and it is a description rather than a diagnosis.
- Clinical correlation
Clinical correlation means the radiologist is asking your doctor to compare the scan with your symptoms, examination and other tests.
- Consolidation
Consolidation on a chest scan means part of the lung that is normally filled with air is filled with something else, such as fluid or pus.
- Contrast
Contrast is a dye given before or during a scan to make blood vessels and certain tissues show up more clearly.
- Cyst
A cyst is a closed sac with a thin wall that usually holds fluid, and simple cysts seen on scans are very common and usually harmless.
- Degenerative changes
Degenerative changes means wear-and-tear changes in joints or the spine that commonly happen with age and use.
- Disc bulge
A disc bulge means a spinal disc extends a little beyond its normal edge, usually evenly around a wide area. It is very common.
- Effusion
An effusion is extra fluid that has collected in a space in the body, such as around the lungs, in a joint or around the heart.
- Ejection fraction
Ejection fraction is the percentage of blood the heart's main pumping chamber pushes out with each beat. It is one measure of heart pumping.
- Enhancement
Enhancement means an area becomes brighter on a scan after contrast dye is given, which shows it has a blood supply.