hilar

hilar — adjective

  • hilarpositive
  • more hilarcomparative
  • most hilarsuperlative

1. Describing the small dip on an organ such as the lung, kidney, or spleen where b

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

Describing the small dip on an organ such as the lung, kidney, or spleen where blood vessels, nerves, and tubes pass in and out. Used almost only in medical reports and anatomy texts.

Example

The chest X-ray showed an enlarged hilar lymph node on the right side.

collocation: hilar lymph node — the most common pairing in chest radiology

Dr. Quinn pointed to a small hilar mass visible on Mr. Rohan's CT scan.

collocation: hilar mass — typical radiology phrasing

Common collocations
  • hilar lymph node
  • hilar mass
  • hilar region
  • hilar adenopathy
  • hilar vessels
  • hilar shadow
  • bilateral hilar
Synonyms
  • perihilar

    Means 'around or near the hilum' rather than at it; often used when changes spread outward from the hilum

Antonyms
  • peripheral

    In chest imaging, contrasts with 'hilar' — peripheral lesions sit near the outer edge of the lung, hilar ones near the root

Grammar Patterns

hilar + noun

Usage Note

Almost always attributive (sits in front of a noun like 'mass', 'node', 'region'); native speakers rarely say 'the area is hilar'. Most common in chest imaging reports referring to the lung roots; the kidney and spleen senses are far less frequent outside surgical notes.

Common Mistakes

The tumor is hilar.
The tumor is in the hilar region.
'Hilar' is used before a noun in clinical writing, not as a stand-alone description after 'be'.
She has a hilar.
She has a mass at the hilum.
'Hilar' is an adjective; the noun for the anatomical structure is 'hilum'.

Word family

  • hilum
    nounC2
  • perihilar
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Hilar, perihilar, and peripheral are positional adjectives used in chest imaging and surgical notes. Hilar describes findings right at the hilum — the slit where airways and blood vessels enter the lung (or where vessels enter the kidney or spleen). Perihilar means around or just outside the hilum, used when a shadow or infiltrate spreads outward from the root rather than sitting on it. Peripheral is the opposite end of the spectrum — lesions near the lung's outer surface, far from the central airways. A radiologist might write 'a hilar mass with perihilar haze and clear peripheral lung fields' to map exactly where the abnormality sits, since each zone carries different diagnostic clues.

hilar ↗perihilarperipheral ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • bilateral hilar adenopathy
  • hilar lymph node enlargement
  • right hilar mass

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed in the late 1800s from the Latin noun 'hilum' (a small thing, originally the little mark on a bean where it joined the pod) plus the English adjective-ending '-ar'. Anatomists borrowed 'hilum' to name the notch on an organ where vessels and tubes enter, and 'hilar' became the adjective for that spot.