Scans and X-rays
What Does Stenosis Mean on a Medical Report?
Stenosis · say it: steh-NOH-sisAlso written: narrowing, spinal stenosis, foraminal stenosis, arterial stenosis
Short answer
Stenosis means a narrowing of a passage in the body, such as the spinal canal, a blood vessel or a heart valve.
What it means
Stenosis is a general word for narrowing. It can describe many parts of the body: the space around the spinal cord or nerves, an artery, a heart valve, or another tube or opening.
Reports often grade stenosis as mild, moderate or severe. In the spine, this describes how much space is left for the nerves. In blood vessels, it describes how much the vessel is narrowed.
Whether stenosis causes symptoms depends on where it is, how narrow it is, and how the body is coping. Your doctor puts the report together with your symptoms.
Where you may see it
- Spine MRI and CT reports
- Ultrasound and CT reports of blood vessels (for example carotid arteries)
- Echocardiogram reports (for heart valves)
📄 How it looks on a report
L4-5: Moderate spinal canal stenosis.
🙅 What it does not mean
- It does not always cause symptoms. Some people with stenosis on a scan feel fine.
- It does not mean a complete blockage. Stenosis means narrowing, not closure.
- Spinal stenosis and heart valve stenosis are different conditions that share a word.
🎯 Check yourself
Which of these is the right meaning of “Stenosis”?
🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
🧾 Reports where you will see “Stenosis”
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💊 Medicines whose labels mention “Stenosis”
Plain-English explanations of each medicine, from its official FDA label.
- Amlodipine
a calcium channel blocker, a type of medicine that relaxes blood vessels
- Azithromycin
a macrolide antibacterial (antibiotic) medicine
- Morphine Sulfate
a strong prescription opioid pain medicine (the label describes it as an opioid agonist)
- Nifedipine
a calcium channel blocker of the dihydropyridine type
- Sildenafil
A phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitor, a medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction
- Tadalafil
a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, which is a medicine that blocks an enzyme called PDE5
- Tramadol
an opioid pain medicine, also called an opioid analgesic
🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “Stenosis” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
- RadiologyInfo.org ↗
Radiological Society of North America and American College of Radiology
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General information about a medical word, not advice about your own results. Ask the clinician who ordered the test what it means for you.