Incidental Finding
Something found on a scan or test that nobody was looking for — usually harmless.
What it means
Something picked up on a test that was done for an entirely different reason. A CT for abdominal pain that also shows a spot on a kidney; a chest scan that shows something on the thyroid.
They are extremely common — modern scanners are detailed enough that most people over 50 have something on a scan somewhere.
The great majority are harmless: simple cysts, small benign nodules, old scars, and normal variations that have always been there.
Some are called "incidentalomas", which is a genuine medical word for a lump found by accident.
In practice
In radiology reports, usually in a separate paragraph after the main findings.
Also a recognised feature of whole-body scans and broad screening, where the more you look, the more you find — which is one of the honest arguments against scanning people without a question in mind.
Why it matters
Ask two things: does it need anything doing, and does it need watching? Frequently the answer to both is no.
If follow-up is recommended, get the interval in writing, because incidental findings are the single easiest thing to lose track of between services.
Try not to let it displace the original question. People sometimes end up absorbed in a harmless kidney cyst while the symptom that prompted the scan goes unexplained.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026