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What is nuclear medicine?
Is a medical specialty that focuses on the use of radioactive materials called radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis, theraphy and medical research.
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What is introuduce to the body in nuclear medicine?
A tracer is introduced into the body by injection, swalloing, or inhalation.
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How is the amount of radioactive tracer material selected?
It is selected carefully to provide the lowest amou of radiation exposure to the patient and still ensure a satisfactory examination or therapeutic goal.
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What do radiactive tracers produce?
They produce gamma-ray emissions (similar to x-rays but at a higher energy) from within the organ being studied.
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What is the equipement used to transform the gamma-ray emissions into images that provide information about the function and anatomy of the organ or system being studied?
Equipment known as gamma or scintilllation camera.
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By whom are the nuclear medicine procedures performed by?
- Nuclear Medicine Physician
- Nuclear Medicine Technologist
- Physicist
- Pharmacist
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What was the one of the first organs to be examined in nuclear medicine and by what?
The thyroid glan using external radiation detectors.
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In the 1940s investigators found that that the reate of absoprtion of radioactive iodine was greatly?
- Increased in cases of hyperthyroidism.
- Decreased in cases of hypothyroidism.
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What is radioactivity?
Is used to describe the release or emission of energy in the form of high-speed alpha or beta particles or waves (gamma rays) from the neclues of an atom.
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What is an atom composed of?
A nucleus at the center of the atom and electrons orbiting around the nucleus.
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What is the nucleus composed of?
- Protons which have a positive charge as well as mass, and
- Neutrons which have mass but no electronic charge.
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What identifies the an element?
It is the number of protons that determine the identify of an element.
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What are isotopes?
Atoms, which have the samenumber of protons, but different numbers of neutrons, are called isotopes.
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What is half-life?
Half-lives vary from milliseconds to years. The half-life of the isotopes used in Nuclear medicine usually range from hours to several days.
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How many radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine?
There are more t han 30 different.
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What are some of the commonly used radiopharmaceuticals?
Chromium, Cobalt, Indium, Iodine, thallium , and Xenon
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How can radiation be detected?
Statically, as in a snapshot showing where the radioactivity was absorbed.
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