Talk:CT scan

:The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. – robertsky (talk) 15:15, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

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• :CT scan → {{no redirect|Computed tomography}}
• :Coronary CT angiography → {{no redirect|Coronary computed tomography angiography}}
• :CT pulmonary angiogram → {{no redirect|Computed tomography pulmonary angiography}}

– We might consider moving this article to "computed tomography", as it is the full technical term, similar to magnetic resonance imaging. Most related articles (operation of computed tomography, electron beam computed tomography, computed tomography of the head/thyroid/chest/abdomen and pelvis, computed tomography angiography, industrial computed tomography, and many more) also use the full term.

Additionally, we should standardize terminology—either using, for instance, "angiograph" or "angiography". The general term for the technology is likely the better choice. While abbreviations should be mentioned in the lead sections, they don’t seem appropriate for article titles. This would also align with WP:MEDMOS and WP:AT. Although "CT scan" may sound more familiar and convenient, "computed tomography" appears to be more commonly used, [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=computed+tomography%2CCT+scan&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3 according to Ngrams]. –Tobias (talk) 11:50, 2 April 2025 (UTC) — Relisting. Cremastra _talk 22:54, 9 April 2025 (UTC)

• Oppose per WP:COMMONNAME. -- Necrothesp (talk) 13:31, 7 April 2025 (UTC)
• :That doesn’t really add up, since the more common name is "computed tomography"—not "CT scan", as I already mentioned. –Tobias (talk) 14:52, 7 April 2025 (UTC)
• ::So, you genuinely think people say "I'm going to have a computed tomography scan now"?! No, they really don't. -- Necrothesp (talk) 10:13, 8 April 2025 (UTC)
• :::That is not the deciding point. WP:MEDMOS clearly states that titles should follow commonly accepted medical terminology. This means it doesn't matter whether people typically use "computed tomography" in everyday language; what matters is whether the term is preferred by reputable sources. In this case, "computed tomography" is indeed the preferred term—just as "magnetic resonance imaging" is used instead of simply "MRI". The same goes not only for MEDMOS, but WP:COMMONNAME as well ("determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of independent, reliable, English-language sources"). The full term should be used in the title, unless it isn't too cumbersome, then you can start working with abbreviations in the body text. –Tobias (talk) 10:27, 8 April 2025 (UTC)
• ::::Local guidelines do not supersede WP:COMMONNAME and WP:MEDMOS does not contradict it in any case, since CT scan clearly is a "recognised medical name", commonly used in the medical profession. My mother has just had a CT scan. Her consultant certainly did not refer to it as a "computed tomography" scan! He called it a CT scan, just like everyone else does. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:46, 8 April 2025 (UTC)
• :::::"CT scan", in the narrow sense, isn't even a term at all, let alone a "recognized medical name", it's an abbreviation of the actual name. We don't need to disregard either of those guidelines, as both state the same principle: the term used should be the one most commonly found in reliable and independent sources. Your mother's consultant, while possibly experienced, is not a reliable or independent medical source in the narrow sense. The thing is, while "CT scan" might be more common in spoken everyday language, it is not as prevalent in medical literature—which is crucial for determining appropriate titles. Just look at the Ngram graph or the PubMed search results (751,409 for "computed tomography" vs. 585,036 for "CT scan"): simply feeling that something is more commonly used doesn’t make it so. Both expressions are indeed frequently used, but "computed tomography" is, without a doubt, the more common term across all major corpora and statistical sources. –Tobias (talk) 15:21, 8 April 2025 (UTC)
• ::::::Article titles on Wikipedia are not determined by medical literature, but by WP:COMMONNAME (which includes all reliable sources)! All article titles are determined this way. Medical terms are not and should not be some sort of magic exception. -- Necrothesp (talk) 10:28, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
• :::::::Certainly — "across all major corpora and statistical sources" does include non-medical ones. I’d just ask that you engage with the points I actually raised. For example, Ngrams does cover a wide range of reliable literature, and the results remain consistent: the prevalence of "computed tomography" holds up regardless. That isn't surprising, since the vast majority of reliable sources discussing medical topics will, naturally, be medical sources — the New York Times doesn't typically publish papers on the efficacy of DBS for Parkinson’s.
• :::::::Medical topics have never been an exception, and I don't plan to make them one now. I think there may be a misunderstanding about the way WP:COMMONNAME is meant to be applied. It refers to the name used among reliable sources, not just colloquial or lay usage. I’ve provided several numbers and no matter which dataset you consult, "computed tomography" tops the list, meeting both MEDMOS and COMMONNAME.
• :::::::So I’d like to understand: what exactly is your aim here? If it's to argue based on the evidence, then let’s talk about the actual numbers — not experiences or preferred interpretations that don’t align with the data. If you can prove me wrong with statistics that support your claim, I'll happily accept that. But for now, I see nothing of the sort. –Tobias (talk) 11:29, 9 April 2025 (UTC)
• Comment: I'm just out of hospital (well, a few weeks ago) where I had numerous {{-r|CAT scan}}s. I've never heard them called anything else in Australia. So it may be an ENGVAR issue. Andrewa (talk) 02:15, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
• :Yeah, that's something different altogether, but "CAT scan" is outdated and generally shouldn't be used anymore—especially not by medical personnel. –Tobias (talk) 06:58, 10 April 2025 (UTC)
• ::I suspect that this may be true in the USA, but it doesn't seem to be the practice in Australia. Andrewa (talk) 09:52, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
• :::The term is outdated across the board. CAT (computed axial tomography) scans aren't truly axial anymore, since modern scanners can acquire images in multiple planes and are no longer limited to "slices" along one single axis. –Tobias (talk) 10:03, 11 April 2025 (UTC)
• Oppose. WP:COMMONNAME by far. Steel1943 (talk) 19:38, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
• :But how can "CT scan" meet WP:COMMONNAME if the more common name is "computed tomography", according to several independent statistics? –Tobias (talk) 19:43, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
• ::...Common use in passerby speech between human beings, which will not occur in statistics. Steel1943 (talk) 23:46, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
• :::"It is useful to observe the usage of major international organizations, major English-language media outlets, quality encyclopedias, geographic name servers, major scientific bodies, and notable scientific journals", "as determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of independent, reliable, English-language sources" - with all due respect, it definitely isn’t. In fact, the opposite is true: WP:COMMONNAME quite clearly states that it relies on reliable sources, not on general human usage. Please read a guideline before you try to cite it. –Tobias (talk) 05:56, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
• ::::Umm... sources are created by humans. (Your argument just collapsed on itself.) Steel1943 (talk) 08:00, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
• :::::Yes, but they are distinct from casual speech between human beings—one is the spoken word, the other the written form. WP:COMMONNAME refers solely to the latter, which occurs in statistics. The argument remains valid, even if you might have missed it. –Tobias (talk) 08:12, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
• Oppose per above. "CT Scan" is the WP:COMMONNAME, and I don't even think medical personnel uses the full term that much, certainly not when conversing with patients. Jeffrey34555 (talk) 23:40, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
• :That doesn't matter in the slightest, see above. –Tobias (talk) 05:56, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
• Oppose at least partially. You listed the n-gram that shows that “computed tomography” is used more than “CT scan”, but the n-grams for the [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Computed+tomography+pulmonary+angiography%2CCT+pulmonary+angiogram%2C+CT+pulmonary+angiography&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3 other] [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Coronary+CT+angiography%2CCoronary+computed+tomography+angiography&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3 two] requested moves shows that the current titles are used more often than the proposed ones. cyberdog958^Talk 21:18, 17 April 2025 (UTC)