Chapter 20 Radiology & Nuclear Medicine

Radiology

medical specialty concerned with the study and application of x-rays and other technologies to produce and interpret images of the human body for diagnoses of disease

X-rays

invisible waves of energy produced by an energy source

Nuclear medicine

use of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease

Digital Radiography

form of x-ray imaging, where digital x-ray sensors are used instead of traditional photographic film

Computed tomography (CT)

An imaging procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to create detailed pictures, or scans, of areas inside the body

Contrast Medium

A substance introduced into a part of the body in order to improve the visibility of internal structure during radiography

Barium sulfate

Used for upper GI, lower GI, esophogram, small bowel studies

A non-radioactive contrast agent used to better visualize the outline of the throat, esophagus and small intestine

Iodine compounds

used for angiography, arthrography, cholangiography, digital subtraction angiography, etc

Angiography

A medical imagining technique used to visualize the inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body with interest in the arteries, veins, and the heart chambers

Cholangiography

X-ray imagining of the bile ducts, used to locate and identify an obstruction after injection of contrast

Digital subtraction angiography (DSA)

A type of fluoroscopy technique used in interventional radiology to clearly visualize blood vessels in a bony or dense soft tissue environment

Hysterosalpingography

A radiologic procedure to investigate the shape of the uterine cavity and the shape and patency of the fallopian tubes

It entails the injection of a radiopaque material into the cervical canal and usually fluoroscopy with image intensification

Myelography

A type of radiographic examination that uses a contrast medium to detect pathology of the spinal cord, including the location of a spinal cord injury, cysts, and tumors

Pyelography/Urography

A form of imaging of the renal pelvis and ureter

Interventional Radiology

An independent medical specialty providing minimally invasive image-guided diagnosis and treatment of diseases in every organ system

Fluoroscopy

A study of moving body structures similar to an X-ray “movie”

Radiofrequency ablation

A medical procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, tumor or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from medium frequency alternating current

Echocardiography

referred to as cardiac echo or simply an echo

A sonogram of the heart

Color flow ultrasound imaging

A method for noninvasively imaging blood flow through the heart and a blood vessel

Doppler Ultrasound

A test that uses high frequency sound waves to measure the amount of blood flow through your arteries and veins

Endoscopic Ultrasonography

A medical procedure in which endoscopy is combined with ultrasound to obtain images of the internal organs in the chest, abdomen and colon

Posteroanterior (PA) view

X-rays travel from a posteriorly placed source to an anteriorly placed detector

Anteroposterior (AP) view

x-rays travel from an anteriorly placed source to a posteriorly placed detector

Lateral view

x-rays travel from a source located to the right or left of the patient to a detector placed to the right/left of the patient

Oblique view

X-rays travel in a slanting direction at an angle from the perpendicular plane

Radionuclide

A chemical which emits a type of radioactivity called gamma rays

Radioactive

material that spontaneously emits radiation

Half life

time required for a radioactive substance to lose half of its radioactivity by disintegration

In vitro procedures

in the test tube, involve analysis of blood and urine specimens using radioactive chemicals

Radioimmunoassay (RIA)

A very sensitive in vitro assay technique used to measure concentrations of antigens by use of antibodies

In vivo procedures

In the body, traces the amounts of radioactive substances in the body

Radionuclide scanning

makes an image by tracking the distribution of radioactive substances in the body

Bone scan

A nuclear medicine test that uses a very small amount of a radioactive substance called a tracer

Lymphoscintigraphy

evaluates the body’s lymphatic system for disease using small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers that are typically injected into the bloodstream or skin, inhaled, or swallowed

Positron emission tomography (PET scan)

A test that uses a special type of camera and a tracer to look at organs in the body

PET/CT scan

advanced nuclear imaging technique combines positron emission tomography (PET) and CT into once machine

reveals information about both the structure and function of cells and tissues in the body during a single imaging session

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)

A nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using gamma rays

Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi (Cardiolite) scan

A pharmaceutical agent used in nuclear medicine imaging

Thallium scan

A test that uses a radioactive substance to produce images of the heart muscle

Thyroid scan

uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers, a special camera and a computer to provide information about the thyroid’s size, shape, position and function that is often unattainable using other imaging procedures

Radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU)

A study of thyroid function

measures how much radioactive iodine is taken up by the thyroid gland in a certain time period