Any feature not present in the original imaged object but that appears in a displayed image. An image artifact is sometimes the result of incorrect operation of the imager, and other times a consequence of natural processes or properties of the human body. It is important to be familiar with the appearance of artifacts because they can obscure, and be mistaken for, pathology. Artifacts may also result in a misfitted prosthesis. Therefore, image artifacts can result in false negatives and false positives.
A factor other than those under investigation that influences the results of an experiment.
In various radiological imaging techniques it is possible that noise or spurious signals can reach a level where they appear in the image with as much strength as the signals produced by real objects. These artifacts can confuse the radiologist and are thus unwanted in any examination.