contrast medium

noun

, Medicine/Medical.

1. a radiopaque substance injected into a part of the body, as the stomach or duodenum, to provide a contrasting background for the tissues in an x-ray or fluoroscopic examination.

contrast medium

noun

1. med a radiopaque substance, such as barium sulphate, used to increase the contrast of an image in radiography

contrast medium

/ kŏn′trăst′ /

1. A substance, such as barium or air, used in radiologic studies to increase the contrast of an image. In x-ray imaging, a positive contrast medium absorbs x-rays more strongly than the tissue or structure being examined; a negative contrast medium, less strongly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of contrast medium¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

You will need to drink a solution of a contrast medium for the scan, and there’s a very low level of radiation exposure.

From Washington Post

Its biggest apparent shortcoming—failure to identify cardiovascular disease—is easily explained, he says: there is no circulation to move around the contrast medium that illuminates blood vessels from the inside.

From Scientific American