mammogram

noun

mam·​mo·​gram ˈma-mə-ˌgram 

: a photograph of the breasts made by X-rays

also : the procedure for producing a mammogram

Examples of mammogram in a Sentence

She went to the hospital for her yearly mammogram.

Recent Examples on the Web

The reason is that prevention guidelines haven’t historically recommended routine mammograms until women were at least into their 40s, so cancers occurring earlier would not have been detected through screening. —Nina Agrawal, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025

Your healthcare provider may recommend starting mammograms sooner, depending on your risk factors. —Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 12 Jan. 2025

Here’s the thing—those mammograms, bone density tests and routine bloodwork? —Sandra Rose Salathe, Flow Space, 9 Dec. 2024

In her announcement, the actress urged followers not to skip their mammograms. —Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin mamma "breast" + -o- + -gram — more at mamma entry 1

Note: The terms mammogram and mammography were introduced by the American physician and surgeon Nymphus Frederick Hicken (1900-98) in "Mammography: roentgenologic diagnosis of breast tumors by means of contrast media," Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, vol. 64 (1937), pp. 593-603.

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

mammogram

noun

mam·​mo·​gram ˈmam-ə-ˌgram 

1

: a photograph of the breasts made by X-rays

2

: the procedure for producing a mammogram