Changes

[[#Top|Back to Top]]

<br />

Nuclear medicine uses radioactive substances, called radiopharmaceuticals, in the diagnosis and treatment of a range of diseases. These substances are chosen or especially developed to be taken up predominantly by one organ or one type of cell in the body. Nuclear medicine offers unique diagnostic information in oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, nephrology, urology and other areas. Such information is not obtainable, or obtainable only with less accuracy, by other modalities. For nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures, trace amounts of radiopharmaceuticals are administered to patients through injection into veins (intravenous), skin (intradermal) or tissues (intraparenchymal) as well as breathing in (inhalation) or eating/drinking (ingestion). After intake, the function, or physiology, of various tissues, organs or organ systems can be demonstrated. For example, in cancer patients, nuclear medicine imaging can be used for diagnosis (i.e. is a cancer present), staging (i.e. how far has it spread), assessment of response to therapy or of possible disease recurrence. Nuclear medicine cameras are now commonly combined with a CT unit (e.g. hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT) which allows precise anatomic localisation of pathology. (Figure 1, Figure 2a, 2b)

</gallery>

[[#Top|Back to Top]]

<br />

Ionising radiation is widely used in biomedical research. Such research is normally carried out in the laboratory and using different animal models. Research on normal tissue radiobiology aims at the investigation of the pathophysiological mechanisms and the consequences of ionising radiation. Pre-clinical in vivo studies in experimental animals largely focus on the characterisation of the pathophysiology of normal tissue reactions, the identification of potential biomarkers or the establishment of assays for predicting normal tissue toxicity of radiotherapy. Establishment of tumor xenograft models, involving implantation of human patient-derived tumors into immunodeficient animals, is a valuable research tool to investigate the biological effects of ionizing radiation on the disease mechanism of cancer.

[[#Top|Back to Top]]

<br />

Just as in human medicine, the use of ionising radiation in veterinary care serves to provide or assist in providing a diagnosis, to guide an interventional procedure or to provide a direct radiation-induced therapeutic benefit. The use of diagnostic radiology is widespread in veterinary care, in veterinary clinics or in private practices. Smaller companion animals are typically radiographed at the practice or clinic, whereas larger animals may also be radiographed at farms, zoos, or at riding and selling stables. Film-screen radiography is being replaced more and more by digital imaging techniques; CT and CBCT scanning have become routinely available in larger animal clinics. Fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures are also used in veterinary medicine. In these procedures, the radiation serves to provide dynamic, real-time images. The images will guide the anatomically correct delivery of treatments and will often allow real-time visualization of the results of the intervention.

</gallery>

[[#Top|Back to Top]]

==<span class="mw-collapsible-headline">More In-Depth Information</span>==

<br />

If you are looking for something more extensive look no further below are a collection of related links and articles that can provide more information on this topic!