A report lands on your phone before anyone has explained it, and by the time you reach the appointment you have read the worst version of it three times over. Most of the phrases that frighten women are ordinary descriptions: normal findings, honest hedging by a radiologist, or a shorthand that means nothing on its own.
This page decodes the words that actually appear on Indian scan, smear, blood test, HSG and semen reports — 104 of them — in plain language. Type any word from your report into the box, or scroll the section you need.
No match found — try a shorter word, or a different spelling. If it is not here, bring the report to your consultation.
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🩺 Pelvic scan — the uterus
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Bulky uterus | The uterus measures larger than average. Very often it is adenomyosis, fibroids or simply a uterus at the upper end of normal, especially after children. | Only matters if you have heavy or painful periods. What a bulky uterus means |
| Fibroid / myoma / leiomyoma | A benign muscle growth in the wall of the uterus. Extremely common, and most cause no symptoms at all. | Size alone does not decide treatment; symptoms and position do. Fibroids |
| Intramural fibroid | A fibroid sitting inside the muscle wall. The commonest type. | Usually watched unless it is large or causing bleeding or pressure. |
| Submucosal fibroid | A fibroid bulging into the cavity of the uterus. The type most likely to cause heavy bleeding and to affect fertility. | Often removable through the cervix without any cut. Hysteroscopy |
| Subserosal fibroid | A fibroid growing outward from the outer surface. Can press on the bladder or bowel but rarely affects bleeding. | Treated only if it causes pressure symptoms or grows. |
| Adenomyosis | The lining tissue has grown into the muscle wall of the uterus, which makes it boggy and tender. | The classic story is heavy periods with deep cramping pain. Treatable. Heavy periods |
| Endometrial thickness (ET) 4 mm, 8 mm, 12 mm | How thick the lining of the uterus is on the day of the scan. It changes through the cycle, so the number means nothing without knowing where you are in your cycle. | After menopause the threshold is much lower. Thickened endometrium |
| Thickened endometrium / endometrial hyperplasia | The lining is thicker than expected. Often a hormonal effect, sometimes an overgrowth that needs a sample. | Whether atypia is present is the whole question. Hyperplasia and atypia |
| Endometrial polyp | A small benign outgrowth of the lining. A common cause of bleeding between periods or after sex. | Removed with a camera, not a cut. Polyps |
| Retroverted / retroflexed uterus | The uterus tilts backwards instead of forwards. It is a normal variation in roughly one in five women. | It does not cause infertility and does not need correcting. Mention it if sex is painful. |
| Anteverted uterus | The uterus tilts forwards. This is the commonest position and is completely normal. | Nothing to do. |
| Heterogeneous / coarse myometrial echotexture | The muscle of the uterus does not look uniform on the scan. Usually the earliest sign of adenomyosis. | Read alongside your symptoms rather than on its own. |
| Nabothian cyst | A blocked mucus gland on the cervix. Harmless and very common. | No treatment needed. |
| Arcuate / septate / bicornuate uterus | The uterus formed in a slightly different shape. Arcuate is a normal variant; a septum is the one that can matter for pregnancy. | Only a septum is sometimes treated, and only in the right circumstances. Recurrent miscarriage |
| Intrauterine adhesions / synechiae | Scar tissue inside the cavity of the uterus, usually after a D&C or an infection. | A cause of very light or absent periods. Asherman's syndrome |
| IUCD in situ / normally placed | Your copper T or hormonal device is sitting where it should. | Nothing to do. Contraception |
🥚 Pelvic scan — ovaries and pelvis
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Simple cyst | A thin-walled, fluid-only cyst. The overwhelming majority are harmless and disappear on their own. | Usually rechecked after a cycle or two. Does my cyst need surgery? |
| Follicle / dominant follicle | A normal egg sac. A dominant follicle means your body is preparing to ovulate. | A normal finding, not a cyst. Ovulation and fertile days |
| Corpus luteum | What is left after an egg is released. It is supposed to be there in the second half of the cycle. | Normal. It often looks alarming on a scan report and is not. |
| Haemorrhagic cyst | A follicle or corpus luteum that has bled into itself. Can be painful for a few days. | Almost always settles on its own; a repeat scan confirms it. |
| Complex cyst | A cyst with solid parts, walls or divisions inside it. Most are still benign, but it needs proper assessment. | Do not wait this one out. When surgery is needed |
| Endometrioma / chocolate cyst | A cyst filled with old blood, caused by endometriosis. | Matters for pain and for fertility. Chocolate cysts |
| Dermoid cyst / teratoma | A benign cyst containing tissue such as fat, hair or teeth. Present from birth in most cases. | Benign, but usually removed if it grows, because of the risk of twisting. |
| Polycystic ovarian morphology / multiple peripheral follicles | Many small follicles arranged around the edge of the ovary. This is an appearance, not a diagnosis. | It needs periods and hormones to interpret it. PMOS (PCOS) |
| Ovarian volume 4 cc, 12 cc | The size of the ovary. Above about 10 cc suggests polycystic morphology; small volumes are seen as egg reserve falls. | Read with AMH and your cycle, never alone. |
| Antral follicle count (AFC) | The number of small resting follicles counted early in the cycle. A rough guide to egg reserve. | Interpreted with AMH and your age. Low AMH |
| Free fluid in the pouch of Douglas | A small amount of fluid behind the uterus. Around ovulation, and in small amounts, this is entirely normal. | It matters only when it is a large amount, or with severe pain, fever or a positive pregnancy test — then it needs urgent assessment. |
| Adnexal mass | Something in the region of the ovary or tube. A deliberately neutral phrase until it is characterised. | The next step is proper characterisation, not panic. |
| Hydrosalpinx | A fallopian tube blocked at its end and swollen with fluid. | Important before IVF. Blocked tubes |
| Bulky ovaries | The ovaries look larger than average, often around ovulation, in PMOS, or after fertility medication. | Read with your cycle day and symptoms. |
| Torsion / twisted ovary | The ovary has rotated and cut off its own blood supply. Causes sudden, severe one-sided pain and vomiting. | A surgical emergency — go to hospital the same hour, not the same week. |
🤰 Pregnancy scans
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Gestational sac seen, no yolk sac yet | The earliest sign of pregnancy inside the uterus. Too early to see more. | A repeat scan in a week or two is normal practice, not bad news. |
| Yolk sac / fetal pole seen | The pregnancy is developing as expected for that stage. | Reassuring. |
| Cardiac activity seen / FHR 150 bpm | A heartbeat is present. A rate between about 110 and 180 is normal in early pregnancy. | The single most reassuring early finding. |
| CRL (crown-rump length) | The length of the baby from head to bottom. Used to date the pregnancy accurately in the first trimester. | Dating by first-trimester CRL is more accurate than by your period. |
| Blighted ovum / anembryonic pregnancy | A sac has formed but no embryo developed inside it. | Confirmed on a repeat scan before anything is decided. It is nobody's fault. |
| Subchorionic haemorrhage / collection | A small bleed at the edge of the pregnancy sac. Common, and usually reabsorbs. | Report fresh bleeding or pain, but most continue normally. |
| NT scan / nuchal translucency | The 11-to-14-week scan measuring fluid behind the baby's neck, combined with blood tests to give a risk figure. | It gives a probability, never a diagnosis. |
| Low-lying placenta | The placenta sits close to the cervix at the mid-pregnancy scan. In most women it moves up as the uterus grows. | Rechecked in the third trimester. Report any bleeding at once. |
| Placenta praevia | The placenta covers the outlet of the uterus at a late scan. This does affect how the baby is delivered. | Needs obstetric planning and hospital delivery. |
| Anterior / posterior placenta | Which wall the placenta is attached to. Neither is better; an anterior placenta just muffles the baby's kicks. | Normal. |
| AFI / liquor / amniotic fluid index | How much fluid surrounds the baby. Too little or too much both need review. | A single low-ish reading is usually rechecked rather than acted on. |
| EFW and percentile | The scan's estimate of the baby's weight, and how that compares with other babies at the same stage. The estimate carries a genuine margin of error. | The trend across scans matters more than one number. |
| IUGR / FGR / small for gestational age | The baby is measuring smaller than expected. It needs closer monitoring, including Doppler studies. | Managed with more frequent checks and planned timing of delivery. |
| Doppler: umbilical artery PI / RI, absent or reversed end-diastolic flow | A measure of how well blood flows through the cord. Absent or reversed flow is a serious finding. | Absent or reversed flow needs specialist care immediately. |
| Soft marker / echogenic intracardiac focus / choroid plexus cyst | A minor finding on the anomaly scan. In isolation, the great majority are normal variants. | Assessed with the rest of the scan and your risk screening. A finding on the anomaly scan |
| Cervical length 30 mm / 22 mm | How long the cervix is in mid-pregnancy. 25 mm or less counts as short and changes what is offered. | Matters most if you have had a late loss or preterm birth. Short cervix |
| Breech / cephalic / transverse | Which way round the baby is lying. Before about 36 weeks it means very little, because babies turn. | Position late in pregnancy affects the delivery plan. |
| Single live intrauterine gestation | One pregnancy, alive, in the right place. This is the sentence you want. | Normal. |
🧪 Pap smear and HPV
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| NILM | Negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy — a normal Pap smear. | Repeat at the recommended interval. Pap smear screening |
| Inflammatory smear | Inflammatory cells are present. Usually infection or irritation, not pre-cancer. | Treat what is causing it, then repeat as advised. |
| Unsatisfactory / inadequate smear | Too few cells, or blood obscuring the sample. It says nothing about your cervix. | Simply needs repeating, usually after a few weeks. |
| ASC-US | Slightly abnormal cells of uncertain meaning. The mildest abnormal result there is. | Usually sorted out by an HPV test. Abnormal Pap results |
| LSIL / CIN 1 | Mild changes, nearly always caused by an HPV infection the body clears by itself. | Most often watched rather than treated. |
| HSIL / CIN 2 / CIN 3 | Moderate to severe pre-cancerous changes. Not cancer, but the stage where treatment prevents it. | Needs colposcopy and usually treatment. What CIN means |
| ASC-H / AGC | Abnormal cells that cannot be dismissed, or glandular cells that need a closer look. | Always referred for colposcopy. |
| HPV positive, type 16 or 18 | The two highest-risk HPV types. Being positive is common and is not a diagnosis of anything. | Changes how closely you are followed. HPV explained |
| HPV positive, other high-risk type | One of the other high-risk types is present. Most such infections clear within two years. | Follow-up testing is the usual answer. |
| Koilocytes | Cells showing the visual signature of HPV infection. | Managed exactly like the grade of the smear itself. |
| Atrophic smear | Thin, low-oestrogen cells. Normal after menopause. | Sometimes repeated after a short course of local oestrogen. |
🧬 Blood tests — hormones
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| TSH | The thyroid screening test. High means underactive; low can mean overactive, or simply early pregnancy. | Pregnancy ranges differ from the ones on the report. Thyroid in pregnancy |
| Free T4 / free T3 | The thyroid hormones actually circulating. A low free T4 with a high TSH is true hypothyroidism. | Read together with TSH, never alone. |
| TPO antibodies positive | Your immune system is targeting the thyroid. Common, and by itself not a disease. | It raises the chance of the thyroid struggling later, especially after delivery. |
| AMH | A marker of how many eggs are left, not of their quality. It does not predict whether you can conceive naturally this month. | Misread more often than almost any test. What low AMH means |
| FSH and LH (day 2-3) | Early-cycle pituitary hormones. A high FSH suggests the ovaries are working harder; a high LH:FSH ratio is often seen in PMOS. | Must be drawn on the right day to mean anything. |
| Prolactin | High levels can stop ovulation and cause milky discharge. Stress, sleep and a recent breast examination all raise it slightly. | A single mildly high value is usually repeated before anything is done. |
| Testosterone / DHEAS / free androgen index | Male-type hormones. Mildly raised levels are common in PMOS and explain acne and extra hair. | Very high levels are the ones that need further tests. |
| Progesterone (day 21) | Confirms whether an egg was released. It must be taken about seven days before the next period is due — not day 21 in every woman. | Wrongly timed is the commonest reason for a confusing result. |
| Beta hCG | The pregnancy hormone. In early pregnancy the trend over 48 hours matters far more than a single value. | A slow rise with pain needs same-day review. Ectopic pregnancy |
| HbA1c | Average blood sugar over about three months. | In pregnancy the DIPSI test is used instead. Diabetes in pregnancy |
| Fasting insulin / HOMA-IR | An estimate of insulin resistance. Useful context in PMOS, not a diagnosis on its own. | Interpreted with weight, cycles and sugar levels. |
| Vitamin D | Deficiency is very common in India, including in women who are outdoors daily. | Easily corrected; worth checking before pregnancy. |
🩸 Blood count, iron and urine
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Haemoglobin (Hb) | The oxygen-carrying pigment. Below 12 g/dL is anaemia in a non-pregnant woman, below 11 in pregnancy. | A number alone does not say why. Anaemia in pregnancy |
| MCV and MCH low | Small, pale red cells. Usually iron deficiency, sometimes thalassaemia trait. | Ferritin tells the two apart. |
| Ferritin | Your iron stores. Below about 30 means the stores are empty, even if haemoglobin is still normal. | The test that actually explains low haemoglobin. |
| RDW high | The red cells vary in size, which often appears early in iron deficiency. | Read with MCV and ferritin. |
| HbA2 raised (Hb electrophoresis) | The pattern of beta thalassaemia trait. Carriers are healthy. | Matters for pregnancy, because the father should be tested too. |
| Vitamin B12 low | Common on vegetarian diets. Causes tiredness and, if prolonged, nerve symptoms. | Iron tablets will not correct it. |
| TLC / WBC high | White cells raised, usually with infection. Pregnancy itself raises the count somewhat. | Interpreted with symptoms. |
| Platelets low | Mildly low platelets are common in late pregnancy. Marked drops need investigation. | The trend matters more than one value. |
| Urine routine: 8-10 pus cells | White cells in the urine, suggesting infection or contamination of the sample. | A culture settles it, especially in pregnancy. |
| Urine culture: >10^5 CFU/mL | A genuine urinary infection, even without symptoms. In pregnancy this is always treated. | Treated on the sensitivity report, not by guesswork. |
💧 HSG and tubal tests
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Free spill of contrast, bilateral | Both tubes are open. This is the result you want. | The main question is answered. Reading an HSG report |
| No spill / bilateral block | Contrast did not pass. Spasm at the corners of the uterus can mimic a block, so this is not always real. | Often repeated or checked at laparoscopy before conclusions. |
| Cornual block | The blockage appears where the tube leaves the uterus — the site most often caused by spasm rather than disease. | Treated with caution as a finding. |
| Loculated spill | The contrast pooled instead of spreading freely, suggesting adhesions around the tube. | Relevant to fertility planning. |
| Beaded / rigid tube | A classic appearance of tubal tuberculosis in India. | Needs the right tests before any treatment. Genital TB and infertility |
| Filling defect in the cavity | Something inside the uterus is displacing the contrast — usually a polyp, fibroid or adhesion. | Confirmed by hysteroscopy. Hysteroscopy |
🔬 Semen analysis
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Volume 1.4 mL or more | The amount of the sample. Low volume can simply mean part of the sample was lost. | Repeat before drawing conclusions. |
| Concentration (count) 16 million/mL or more | Sperm per millilitre. The lower reference limits describe men whose partners conceived within a year — they are not a pass mark. | One abnormal sample means very little. |
| Total motility 42% / progressive motility 30% | How many sperm move, and how many move forward usefully. Delay in getting the sample to the lab lowers both. | Timing and transport matter. |
| Normal forms 4% or more | Strict morphology. Even in fertile men, most sperm look abnormal, so 4% is normal, not alarming. | Almost always misread by patients. |
| Oligozoospermia / asthenozoospermia / teratozoospermia | Fewer sperm / poorer movement / more abnormal shapes. | A repeat sample after 2 to 7 days of abstinence is the first step. |
| Azoospermia | No sperm found in the sample. It needs confirmation and then a proper cause-finding workup. | Referral to an andrologist, not a repeat of the same test forever. |
| Pus cells in semen | White cells present. May mean infection, or simply contamination. | Interpreted with a culture and symptoms. |
| DNA fragmentation index (DFI) | A test of sperm DNA damage. Useful in specific situations, oversold in general practice. | Only worth doing if the answer would change the plan. |
📝 Phrases that sound worse than they are
| What the report says | What it usually means | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical correlation advised / suggested | The radiologist is saying: this is what I can see, your doctor must read it against your symptoms. | It is standard wording, not a warning. |
| Correlate with serum beta hCG | The scan cannot tell whether an early pregnancy is normal without the blood level. | Get the blood test done the same day where possible. |
| Suggested follow-up scan after 6 weeks | The finding is probably harmless, and time will confirm it. | Book it rather than forgetting it. |
| Mild / minimal / trace | The radiologist is recording something small so the report is complete. | In most cases no action follows. |
| Incidental finding | Something unrelated to why the scan was done. | Usually needs no more than a note. |
| Prominent / bulky / heterogeneous | Descriptions, not diagnoses. They say how something looks, not what it means. | Meaning comes from your symptoms. |
| Physiological | Your body doing what it is supposed to do. | Reassuring by definition. |
| Cannot be excluded / cannot be ruled out | The scan cannot completely dismiss a possibility. This is honesty about the limits of imaging, not a prediction. | Ask your doctor what the realistic chance actually is. |
- Before you read on -
Four things that are true of almost every report
- A report is a description, not a diagnosis. The radiologist or the lab writes what they can see or measure. What it means comes from your symptoms, your age, your cycle and your history.
- Numbers need a date. Endometrial thickness, hormones and follicle counts all change through the cycle. The same value can be perfectly normal on one day and abnormal on another.
- "Cannot be excluded" is honesty, not a warning. It is the standard phrasing for the limits of a test.
- One result rarely decides anything. Most decisions in gynaecology come from a pattern over time, not a single line on a page.
When a report does need attention today
Most findings can wait for your next appointment. A few cannot. Contact a doctor or go to hospital the same day if your report shows any of these, and especially if you also feel unwell:
- A positive pregnancy test with free fluid, severe one-sided pain or a pregnancy not seen inside the uterus — this is how an ectopic pregnancy presents, and it is an emergency.
- Sudden severe one-sided pelvic pain with vomiting, particularly with a known ovarian cyst — a twisted ovary needs surgery within hours.
- Absent or reversed end-diastolic flow on a pregnancy Doppler study.
- A urinary infection in pregnancy, even without symptoms.
- Bleeding after menopause with a thickened lining — usually not cancer, but it is the one symptom that is always investigated.
- HSIL, CIN 2, CIN 3, ASC-H or AGC on a smear — not an emergency, but not something to leave for a year either.
Reports are read in context, not in isolation
Three examples of why the same line means different things in different women:
- "Endometrial thickness 12 mm." Ordinary just before a period. Worth investigating in a woman who stopped having periods five years ago.
- "Multiple peripheral follicles." Meaningless on its own in a woman with regular periods and no other symptoms. Part of the picture in a woman whose cycles come every three months.
- "Blocked tube on HSG." Often spasm at the corner of the uterus rather than a true block, which is why the test is frequently repeated or checked at surgery.
This is the reason the third column on this page is usually about what happens next rather than what the finding is.
What we can and cannot do at the clinic
Blood tests, urine tests, Pap smears and HPV testing are done at the clinic, and your reports are gone through with you line by line at the consultation. Scans and HSG are arranged by referral, as are all imaging tests, and the films and reports are then reviewed here with you.
If a report has worried you, bring it — the actual report, not a photograph of one line. Half of what makes a report frightening is the half that was left out of the screenshot.
- About the author -
Dr. Anam Ghani, MBBS, MS (OBGY)
Obstetrician & Gynaecologist in Gurugram with 12+ years of clinical experience and 8000+ deliveries. Trained at Lady Hardinge Medical College with senior residencies at GTB, Kasturba and DDU Hospitals. Practises at Sector 51 (Mayfield Garden) and Sector 56, Gurugram, with a special focus on gynaecology, fertility and high-risk pregnancy.
To book a consultation, contact us here, WhatsApp +91 84472 59265, or call either clinic directly.
- Medical disclaimer -
This article is general education and does not replace an individual assessment. Tests, treatment and timings differ between women and belong with the doctor looking after you. Do not start, stop or change any medicine on the basis of anything written here.