Facts and data on pictograms
Synonyms / Other Terms Used
Nephrology, Nephrology Department, Kidney Department, Kidney Center
Category
Public Services, Public Facilities, Health Care, Clinical Facilities
Message / Function
To indicate the location of a clinical facility that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the urinary system and the reproductive organs
| Source | Description | |
|---|---|---|
 50 |
Hablamos Juntos | Side view of human figure in bed with cover, monitor displaying kidneys above, connected to bag with IV line |
 |
Dumbar-WH | Frontal view of human figure, kidneys and bladder indicated |
 |
Fassati | Frontal view of human figure, kidneys and bladder indicated by dots |
 B) |
CNIS | Frontal view of upper part of human body, kidneys and ureter indicated, stethoscope in top left corner |
 80 |
Hablamos Juntos | Frontal view of upper part of human body with kidneys indicated, cross in top left corner |
 A) |
SEGD/HJ | Frontal view of upper part of human body with kidneys indicated |
 |
alleBHP | Frontal view of upper part of human body, kidneys and ureter indicated |
 |
D'source | Frontal view of upper part of human body, kidneys and ureter indicated |
 |
SDA 1999 | Frontal view of upper part of human body in outline, kidneys and ureter indicated |
 |
NSD 1996 | Upper part of human body with curved line ending in tap, drop, two filled circles below line |
 |
Health Icons | Schematic representation of the urinary system, kidneys and bladder in outline |
 |
Kabir Hossain | Schematic representation of the urinary system |
 60 |
Hablamos Juntos | View of kidneys and ureters |
 |
Health Icons | View of kidneys and ureters |
 70 |
Hablamos Juntos | View of kidneys and ureters, cross above |
 20 |
Hablamos Juntos | Arrows surrounding kidneys and pointing towards them |
 |
NYCHHC | Schematic representation of kidneys |
Note: Some of the examples shown above were mirrored horizontally to contrast differences.
Discussion
The examples shown above are a selection of the heterogeneous range of pictograms and symbols available to indicate the location of a clinical facility that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the urinary system and the reproductive organs. While basically all pictograms focus on the kidneys as main characteristic, the additional elements shown vary to a large degree: from a side view of a human figure in bed with cover plus a monitor displaying kidneys above, connected to a bag with IV line, frontal views of the upper part of a human body with kidneys indicated, to all kinds of schematic representations of the urinary system. No single visual stereotype can be identified.
A few studies present research covering several pictogram variants for this referent. These papers offer some useful information:
Hablamos Juntos in partnership with SEGD (the Society for Environmental Graphic Design) developed several test designs to signify Kidney Center or the clinical specialization Nephrology, of which five pictograms were subjected to a test on basis of the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure (Fontaine et al., 2010). With median scores ranging from 80 down to 20 almost none of the pictograms examined was judged as well comprehensible. The numbers next to the pictograms in the table above are the median estimation scores reported for the corresponding pictograms in this study. Regarding these results a new variant - labeled as SEGD/HJ and marked A) above - was designed on basis of the variant rated as most comprehensible.
In a follow up project this symbol was examined - among others - by Zender & Cassedy (2014) using the ISO/ANSI Open-ended Comprehension Test to find out if this variant is understood just as well in a different culture, and if not, why it does not work. Test results from the United States and Tanzania reveal that showing a frontal view of the upper part of a human body with kidneys indicated, labeled SEGD/HJ in the table above, probably will work in the USA, as 90 % of the responses from the American sample could be classified as correct. But in the Tanzanian sample it became evident that this variant does not work everywhere: it performed very well among respondents with advanced medical literacy with 95 % correct, but not among typical local patients, as only 30 % answered correctly. The failure was considered to be due to insufficient knowledge about this medical specialization.
Deng et al. (2025) studied the comprehensibility of pictograms from the Chinese standard GB/T 10001.6-2006 Public Information Graphical Symbols for Use on Signs, Part 6: Symbols for Medical Treatment and Health Care to identify effects of age and cognitive features. The pictogram for Nephrology Department, labeled CNIS and marked B) above, also was among the pictograms examined. In the Comprehension Test conducted, this pictogram performed moderately well with a correct rate of 77 % among the younger respondents compared to just 60 % with the senior respondents.
Recommendations
Due to the fact that data from research is still insufficient, we recommend testing using the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure for eliminating poor variants and identifying the best of the set available, followed by a Comprehension Test. These studies should deliver useful data for recommending the best pictogram. Detailed information about the most frequent responses given in each of the response categories of the Comprehension Test should be provided to correctly judge comprehensibility and improve designs. Also information concerning knowledge about this medical specialization should be collected at the end of the test, as studies suggest that many terms used for healthcare facilities are often not understood well by people visiting hospitals or related institutions.
Tests of pictograms of referent Urology
See also
Hospital, Doctor, Health Care Center, Pharmacy
Updated 2025-12-27 by Christoph Brugger