Metaphorical radiodiagnostic terms: “Sign” designations in Spanish and English

The purpose of this article is to identify and classify metaphorical sign terms in the field of abdominal radiodiagnostic imaging. A 1,000,000 word electronic corpus of English and Spanish medical texts was used to compile an extensive list of metaphorical designations for signs detected on radiological images. These terms were classified thematically and structurally and analyzed from the terminological perspective of logical motivation. The fundamental premise behind this research is the belief that a better knowledge of this type of terminology (both English and Spanish) can lead to a better understanding of the specialist’s perception of the prototypical image conjured by the metaphor.