What is the difference between screening and diagnostic mammography?

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The main idea is distinguishing purpose and use: screening mammography is a screening test for people without symptoms, while diagnostic mammography is used to investigate a known problem or abnormal finding. In screening, the goal is early detection in asymptomatic women, so imaging is done to look for any signs of cancer in a broad population. In diagnostic mammography, there are symptoms such as a lump or breast change, or a prior abnormal screening result that needs clarification, so radiologists use targeted imaging with additional views to characterize the finding and determine the next steps. Sometimes spot views or magnification are added to better define a suspicious area, and ultrasound or biopsy may follow if needed. That combination—asymptomatic screening versus symptom/abnormal-result evaluation with extra imaging—is what sets the two apart. The other statements don’t fit: diagnostic workups aren’t defined simply by “more” views in every case and diagnostic is not determined solely by family history.