'phlebogram' originates from Greek (via New Latin), specifically the elements 'phleb-' from Greek 'phlebos' and '-gram' from Greek 'gramma', where 'phleb-' meant 'vein' and 'gramma' meant 'a thing written or recorded'.

'phlebogram' was formed in modern medical Latin/English from Greek elements (e.g. 'phlebos' + 'gramma'); related forms include Medieval/Modern coinages such as 'phlebogramma' and 'phlebography', eventually becoming the English medical term 'phlebogram'.

Initially it meant 'a written record or drawing of a vein', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a radiographic image of a vein obtained by venography'.