Intro Into Rad Ch 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, specialties, roles, energy types, and historical facts from Chapter 1: Introduction to Radiologic Sciences and Patient Care.

Radiology

Branch of medicine dealing with radioactive substances and radiant energy and with the diagnosis and treatment of disease by means of both ionizing and nonionizing radiation.

Radiography

Making of records, known as radiographs, of internal structures of the body by passage of x-rays or gamma rays through the body to act on specially sensitized film or digital imaging plate or system.

Radiograph

Image produced on a sensitized film or plate by X-rays.

Radiologic Technologist/Radiographer

General term applied to persons qualified to use x-rays (radiography) or radioactive substances (nuclear medicine) to produce images of the internal parts of the body for interpretation by a physician.

Radiologist

Physician who specializes in the use of roentgen rays and other forms of radiation in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and interpretation of radiographs.

Radiologist Assistant

Advanced-level radiographer who extends the capacity of the radiologist in the diagnostic imaging environment, thereby enhancing patient care by performing procedures under direction and evaluating image quality.

Radiation Therapy

The use of high-energy ionizing radiation to treat disease, especially malignant tumors (cancer).

Radiation Therapist

Radiologic technologist who specializes in treating disease (cancer) with ionizing radiation treatments according to the prescription and instructions of a radiation oncologist.

Radiologic Technology

The study and practice of diagnostic imaging methods to produce images that allow visualization of anatomical or functional organs or processes within the body.

Cardiovascular Interventional Technology

A subspecialty of radiology in which minimally invasive radiologic examinations and procedures of the cardiovascular system are performed using image guidance and iodinated contrast media.

Mammography

A subspecialty area in radiology in which images are obtained of breast tissue and surrounding musculature for screening, diagnostic, or biopsy purposes.

Bone Densitometry

A means of measuring bone mineral density (BMD) using two x-ray beams with differing energy levels, where soft tissue is subtracted from final data to determine actual bone density.

Computed Tomography

A medical imaging method that measures x-ray absorption along a predetermined plane in the body, which is processed by a computer to produce soft-tissue sectional images.

Nuclear Medicine

Branch of radiologic technology involving procedures that require the use of radioactive materials (radionuclides emitting gamma radiation) injected into the body for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The use of a powerful magnetic field in combination with radiofrequency waves and a computer to obtain sectional soft-tissue images of patient anatomy.

Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Visualization of structures of the body by recording the reflections of pulses of high-frequency sound (ultrasound) waves directed into the tissue.

Clinical Instructor

An educator who teaches students primarily on a one-on-one basis in the clinical setting.

Didactic Faculty Member

An educator who teaches students typically through classroom lectures and laboratory activities.

Clinical Coordinator

An educator who has teaching responsibilities along with administrative duties in overseeing clinical education.

Program Director

An educator required to have a master's degree who has teaching responsibilities as well as overall administrative responsibility for the entire educational program.

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

Scientist who discovered x-rays on November 8, 1895, while working with a cathode ray tube, created the famous radiograph of his wife's hand, received the first Nobel Prize in physics, and died in 1923 of colon cancer.

Radiation

Energy that is transmitted by waves through space or through a medium (matter).

Ionization

Process by which a neutral atom gains or loses an electron, thus acquiring a net charge, which has the ability to disrupt the composition of matter and life processes.

Sound

A form of mechanical energy transmitted through matter as nonionizing radiation waves, used to create images in sonography.

Nuclear Energy

Energy emitted by the nucleus of an atom in the form of gamma radiation, used in nuclear medicine to visualize anatomic structures and physiologic actions.

X-rays

A man-made form of electromagnetic energy created when high-speed moving electrons are suddenly stopped.