Clinical history
Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated
Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →
In plain language
The reason the scan was ordered, in a line or two — the symptom, the suspected problem, or the follow-up being done. It tells the radiologist what question to answer, and it tells you what this scan was actually looking for.
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Where you'll see this
The top of the report, before the technique.
Your report may word it “Indication”, “Clinical indication” or “History”. These mean the same thing.
Questions worth asking your doctor
- Which part of this report is the conclusion I should focus on?
- Was the question my doctor asked actually answered by this scan?
- Is there an earlier report or addendum I should be reading alongside this one?
How often does this turn up?
The clinical history sits at the very top of the report, usually in a line or two, and it states why the scan was ordered — the symptom, the suspected problem, or the follow-up being done. It is on every report and it is the most consequential sentence most patients never read.
Does it mean something is wrong?
It matters because it shapes everything after it. A radiologist reads images differently depending on the question they were asked, and a history that is thin or wrong sends the reading in the wrong direction. If the history on your report does not match your actual situation — the wrong side, the wrong symptom, an outdated reason — that is genuinely worth raising, because the report may have answered a question nobody was asking.
What to do with it
Nothing follows from the section itself, but two things are worth doing with it. Check that it says what you told the referring clinician. And use it to judge the report’s scope: a scan ordered for one question may mention other things only in passing, so a structure described briefly in a study aimed elsewhere has not necessarily been assessed as thoroughly as it would be in a dedicated scan.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the history on my report look so short?
- Because it is transcribed from the request form, which is often brief. Radiologists frequently work from a single line, which is one reason reports hand the interpretation back to the doctor who has the full picture.
- The history is wrong. Does that matter?
- It can. The question asked shapes how the images are read and what gets looked for hardest. A wrong side, a wrong symptom, or an outdated reason is worth flagging to your doctor.
- Is clinical history the same as indication?
- Yes — the words are used interchangeably, along with clinical indication. All of them mean the reason the scan was requested.
Parts of a report
Where this word comes up
Still worried about what your report says?
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Read Your Scan is informational only — not a medical diagnosis, and not a substitute for a licensed radiologist or your doctor. If you have urgent symptoms, seek care.