Pearls, Pitfalls, and Frequently Asked Questions
This chapter reinforces concepts presented in this textbook. Students of medicine gather pearls of wisdom from their mentors that may not fit well into a didactic treatment of a subject…
Gastrointestinal System
The use of a radionuclide to measure gastric transit was first described in 1966. Radionuclide gastric emptying scintigraphy has long been the standard methodology for measuring gastric transit. In this…
Endocrine System
Thyroid Disease—Radionuclide Diagnosis and Therapy In 1941, the first patient was treated for thyroid cancer with radioiodine. Since then, radioiodine has proven invaluable in the assessment of thyroid disorders and…
The Pulmonary System
Introduction: The Ventilation–Perfusion Lung Scan Particles slightly larger than red blood cells can be radiolabeled and injected into a peripheral vein. After passing through the heart and central pulmonary arteries,…
Molecular Imaging
Molecular imaging (MI) allows noninvasive visualization and quantification of functions occurring at the cellular or molecular level. This can involve several different techniques ( Table 5.1 ), but tagging a…
Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography, Positron Emission Tomography, and Hybrid Imaging
Data Acquisition of Emission Tomographyn Conventional or planar radionuclide imaging suffers a major limitation in the loss of object contrast as a result of background radioactivity. In the planar image,…
Radiopharmaceuticals
An unstable atom that undergoes radioactive decay in order to achieve stability is known as a radionuclide. The radiation these atoms emit can sometimes be used in medical imaging and…
Radioactivity and Radionuclides
In nuclear medicine, radiopharmaceuticals given to the patient emit the radiation used to create images or perform therapy. In order to understand how these agents perform and what safety considerations…
Radiation Detection & Ancillary Instrumentation
The passage of radiation, such as x-rays and gamma rays, through a given material leads to ionizations and excitations that can be used to quantify the amount of energy deposited….
Vascular Anatomy of the Abdominal Aorta and the Inferior Vena Cava
Abdominal Aorta The abdominal aorta continues from the thoracic aorta as it passes posterior to the median arcuate ligament and between the crura of the diaphragm (aortic hiatus), in front…
