Radiology / Nuclear Medicine

The branch of medical science deals with the diagnostic and therapeutic functions of ionizing radiation. n2. The science of radiant energy, it's used on the way to the extension of current knowledge, and its diverse applications for the gain of humanity.

A nuclear medicine modus operandi is sometimes explains as an “inside-out” X-ray because it proceedings radiation emitting from the patient's body rather than radiation that is directed through the patient's body. Nuclear medicine procedures use minute amounts of radioactive materials, called radiopharmaceuticals, to generate images of the anatomy. Radiopharmaceuticals are substances that are attracted to specific organs, tissues or bones. They are introduced into the patient's body by injection, inhalation or swallowing. As the radiopharmaceutical travels through the body, it transmits radioactive emissions. A special type of camera identifies these emissions in the organ, bone or tissue being imaged and records the information on a computer screen or film.

Nuclear medicine is only one of its kinds because it documents function as well as structure. For example, nuclear medicine permits physicians to distinguish how the heart is functioning, not just what it looks like. Most other diagnostic imaging examinations, in comparison, reveal only structure. Nuclear medicine procedures are executes to assess the function of nearly each organ. Common nuclear medicine procedures consist of thyroid studies, brain scans, bone scans, cardiac stress tests, lung scans, and liver and gallbladder procedures.