Intro to medical imaging Flashcards
Aidan
Define radiology
Branch of medicine concerned with the use of radiant energy (such as x-rays) or radioactive material in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
What are X-rays
a form of electromagnetic radiation, able to pass through the human body and produce an image of internal structures.
How do dense tissues appear on X-rays?
they cause more beam attenuation and show up as lighter grey or white on the radio-graph.
How do light tissues appear on X-rays?
they cause less beam attenuation and so appear darker/black.
Five principle densities are?
Air, Fat, Soft tissues/water, Bone, Metal/contrast material.
Why should you always image in two planes?
as hairline crack may not be visible along the plane it is on but will be obvious on a plane lateral to it.
whats the problem with taking X-rays of patients when they are lying down?
soft tissues and other viscera may shift position depending on which way they are lying.
What does CT stand for?
Computerised Tomography
What is Tomography?
A method that produces images of a single tissue plane.
What is Mammography?
A specific type of X-ray imaging that uses a low dose X-ray system specially designed for creating detailed images of the breast.
What is mammography used for?
Either used as a screening tool to detect early breast cancer in women without signs or symptoms of breast disease or to diagnose a breast disease in women with symptoms such as a lump, pain or nipple discharge
What is fluoroscopy?
Is a type of medical imaging that shows a continuous X-ray image on a monitor, much like an X-ray movie.
What kind of dye is used in fluoroscopy?
A radioactive dye
When is fluoroscopy used?
It is used when real-time examination of the patients body is required.
What are some uses of fluoroscopy?
Positioning of orthopedic implants during surgery, catheters and pacemakers, viewing the movement of contrast agents, such as barium, through the body and studying the movement of parts of the body.
