NUCLEAR MEDICINE EXAM REVIEW

Proton

A positively charged particle.

Electron

A negatively charged particle.

Neutron

A particle that has no charge.

Electrons

Particles that move around the nucleus in orbit or paths, each having characteristic energy level.

Nucleus

The central part of an atom made-up of protons and neutrons.

Atomic weight or mass number

The sum of the protons and neutrons of an atom, symbolized by the letter A.

Becquerel and Curie

Units that mean the number of disintegration per second.

Marie Curie

Identified emissions from what is known as radium.

Alpha particles

Particles that can be stopped or absorbed by air.

Isotopes

Atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

Technetium 00 (99m Tc)

The most widely used radionuclide in Nuclear Medicine.

Radioisotopes

In Nuclear Medicine, all emit gamma rays.

Radionuclides

Can be natural or man-made in Nuclear Medicine.

Half-life

The time it takes for a radioactive element to decay to ½ its original radioactive strength.

Rate of radioactive decay

Called half-life.

Radiopharmaceutical

A radionuclide bound to a biological agent.

In vivo studies

When trace amounts of radiopharmaceuticals are given directly to a patient.

Nuclear Medicine

Uses images to mainly demonstrate physiological function.

Gamma camera

An instrument utilized in Nuclear Medicine.

Gamma camera function

Has sodium iodide crystals to detect radioactive emissions and transform those emissions into light energy or photons.

Bone scans and cardiac scans

The most commonly performed Nuclear Medicine studies.

SPECT imaging

Provides 3D images of organs being studied.

SPECT

Stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography.