Chapter 20 Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

What is radiology?

 medical specialty concerned with the study of x-rays and other technologies (such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance) to produce and interpret images of the human body for diagnosis of disease

What are x rays?

invisible waves of energy

What is nuclear medicine?

use of radioactive substances in the diagnosis of disease

What is a radiologist?

physician who specialized in diagnosing and treating patient using imaging equipment, interpreting the test

What is a nuclear physician?

physician who specializes in testing and tretaing patients with radioactive materials

What is a radiologic technologist?

radiographers, nuclear medicine technologists, sonographers

Characteristics of x-rays?

expose photographic plates, penetrate substances, invisible, travel in straight lines, scatter, ionization

What is digital radiography?

use of digital x-ray detectors instead of photographic film

What are two examples of contrast studies?

barium sulfate, iodine compunds

What is barium sulfate contrast study used for?

upper and lower GI

What is iodine compound contrast study used for?

angiography, arthrography, cholangiography, digital subtraction angiography, hysterosalpingography, myelography, pyelography

What are some diagnostic techniques?

x-ray studies, digital radiography, computed tomography, contrast studies, fluoroscopy, digital imaging techniques, interventional radiology, ultrasound, MRI

What are the x-ray positions?

anterioposterior, posterioranterior, lateral, oblique

What is the most commonly requested chest x-ray?

postereoanterior view of the chest

What is the most common contrast used?

barium sulfate

What is posterioanterior?

posterior source to anterior detector

What is anterioposterior?

anterior source to posterior detector

What is lateral view?

in left lateral view, source at right of patient, to detector at left of patient

Describe oblique view

source slanting direction at angle from perpendicular plan

Abduction

movement away from midline

adduction

movement toward the midline

eversion

turning outward

extension

lengthening or straightening a flexed limb

flexion

bending a part of the body

Does ultrasound have radiaiton?

no

decubitus

lying down on the side

prone

lying on the belly

What is the contradiction of doing an MRI?

metal in the body

Recumbent

lying down (prone or supine)

supine

lying on the back (face up)

What are some examples of radionuclides/radioisotpes?

alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays

What are two examples of nuclear medicine tests?

in vitro test tube, in vivo in the body

What is the half life of a particle?

half life of a particle is the time required to lose half of its radioactivity (disintegration)

Why might someone need an x-ray on the lateral view?

fractured rib, looking at the lungs

Why is oblique view used?

to see masses or breast cancer

Why is it important to know the half life of a particle?

gives the length of time the diagnostic tool will stay in the body, to keep the patient safe from radiation effects

What is the meaning of in vitro?

latin for in th test tube

Describe analysis of blood and urine. What kind of procedure is this?

radioimmunoassy uses radioactive chemicals and abs to detect hormones and drugs in the patient’s blood, this is an in vitro procedure

What is the meaning of in vivo?

in the body

What usually happens during in vivo procedures (radiology)

radioactive substance given directly to the patient to evaluate organ function or image, the radiopharmaceutical concentrates in teh organ then the scintiscanner detection instrument produces a picture

What is a scintiscanner?

gamma camera

What is a scintiscan?

picture produced by scintiscanner

Amounts of radiopharmaceuticals detected at a given location or organ are proportional to?

rate at which the gamma rays are emitted

What are some examples of procedures using radionuclides?

bone scan, lymphoscintigraphy, positron emission tomography scan (PET), CT scan, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), technetium Tc-99m sestamibi scan, thallium scan, thyroid scan

What name can be applied to the group of procedures using radionuclides?

tracer studies

What is another name for radionuclide scanning?

scintigraphy

What does PET mean in PET scan?

positron emission tomography

What do pet scans use instead of contrast x-rays?

radioisotopes

How are the radioisotopes given during a PET scan? What happens?

given via intravenous injection, concentration radioisotopes in tissues where the radionuclide is or is not being metabolized

What is a PET scan useful in treating?

stroke, epilepsy, alzheimer disease, brain tumors, abdominal and pulmonary malignancies

What does SPECT stand for?

single-photon emission computed tomography

How is SPECT done?

IV injection of radioactive tracer, computer reconstruction of 3-d images based on many views

What does SPECT detect?

liver tumors, cardiac ischemia, diseases of bone and spine

computed tomography

Diagnostic x-ray procedure that produces a cross-sectional image of a specific body segment

contrast studies

Radiopaque materials are injected to obtain contrast with surrounding tissue when shown on x-ray film

gamma camera

machine to detect gamma rays emitted from radiopharmaceuticals

gamma rays

high energy rays emitted by radioactive substances in tracer studies

half life

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

interventional radiology

therapeutic or diagnostic procedures performed by a radiologist

in vitro

Process, test, or procedure performed, measured, or observed outside a living organism

in vivo

Process, test, or procedure is performed, measured, or observed within a living organism

ionization

Transformation of electrically neutral substances into electrically charged particles

magnetic resonance imaging

Use of magnetic field and radio waves to produce sagittal, coronal, and axial images of the body

nuclear medicine

Medical specialty that studies uses of radioactive substances in diagnosis of disease

positron emission tomography (PET)

Use of positron-emitting radioactive substances given intravenously to create a cross-sectional image of cellular metabolis

radioimmunoassay

Test that combines radioactive chemicals and antibodies to detect minute quantities of substances in a patient’s blood

radioisotope

Radioactive form of an element ; radionuclide

radiolabeled compound

Radiopharmaceutical; used in nuclear medicine studies

radiology

Medical specialty concerned with the study of x-rays and their use in diagnosis of diseas

radiolucent

permitting the passage of x-rays

radionuclide

radioactive form of an element; radioisotope

radiopaque

obstructing the passage of x-rays

radiopharmaceutical

radioactive drug used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes

scan

image of an area, organ or tissue of the body obtained from ultrasound, radioactive tracer studies, CT or MRI

scintigraphy

Diagnostic nuclear medicine test using radiopharmaceuticals and gamma cameras to create images

single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)

Radioactive tracer is injected intravenously and a computer reconstructs a 3D-image based on a composite of many views

tagging

attaching a radionuclide to a chemical and following its path in the body

tracer studies

use of radionuclide tags attached to chemicals and followed as they travel through the body

ultrasonography

Diagnostic technique that projects and retrieves high-frequency sound waves as they echo off body parts

ultrasound transducer

Handheld device that sends and receives ultrasound signals

uptake

rate of absorption of a radionuclide into an organ or tissue

ventilation-perfusion studies

Ventilation and perfusion of a radiopharmaceutical followed by imaging its passage through the respiratory tract

fluor/o

liminous

is/o

same

pharmaceut/o

drug

radi/o

x-rays

roentgen/o

x-rays

son/o

sound

therapeut/o

treatment

vitr/o

glass

viv/o

life

-gram

record

-graphy

process of recording

-lucent

to shine

-opaque

obscure

cine-

movement

scho-

repeated sound

ultra-

beyond

What is interventional radiology?

new specialty which treats patients using minimally invasive techniques usually as an alternative to traditional surgery

Instead of “keyhole surgery” interventional radiologists go one step further and perform ….

“pinhole surgery”