Intro to Radiology Flashcards
What is radiology?
- branch of medicine that uses medical imaging to diagnose and manage disease
Who is a radiologist?
- a medical doctor that specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases using medical imaging
What is interventional radiology?
- a medical subspecialty that uses medical imaging to perform minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and treat diseases
Who was William Rontgen?
- discovered the first x-ray using his wife’s hand, through ionizing radiation.
- won nobel price in 1901
Who was Marie Curie?
- discovered radioactivity
- pioneered portable x-ray machines
- nobel prize winner in 1903 and 1911 (first women to ever win a nobel prize, first person to win 2 nobel prizes)
- Polonium and radium (named after her)
Who was George Eastman?
- man behind photography, filming, kodak(camera)
Who was Werner Forssmann?
- in 1929 first one to do a right heart catheterization using a foley cath, inserting from arm to the heart
- won a nobel price in 1956
Who was Godfrey Hounsfield?
- developed a prototype of CT scanner
- Hounsfield unit used to measure density
- nobel prize in 1979 for physiology or medicine
Who was Raymond Damadian?
- discovered relaxation techniques used in MRI in 1977
- didn’t get nobel prize due to his religion
What are the modalities/methods of imaging?
- Plain radiographs(2- dimensional x-rays)
- Ultrasound (uses sound waves, also known as sonography
- fluoroscopy (low-dose multiple x-rays in real time)
- CT scan (combination of multiple x-rays)
- MRI (uses magnetic field to create images)
- Nuclear med (uses radio-active drug to create imaging as the drug decays and emits gamma radiation as it pass through the body)
- PET (positron emission tomography) a type of nuclear medicine test that shows area of metabolism, can be combined with CT for anatomical imaging as well
List the types of imaging from least expensive to most?
- Radiographs(x-rays) least expensive
- fluoroscopy
- ultrasound
- CT
- MRI
- Nuclear med (most expensive)
List the types of imaging from least time consuming to most time consuming?
- X-ray/radiographs (least time consuming)
- CT
- Ultrasound
- MRI
- Nuclear med (most time consuming)
List the types of imaging from least radiation to most radiation?
- MRI (no radiation)
- Ultrasound (no radiation)
- X-ray/radiographs
- CT
- Nuclear med (most radiation)
How are x-rays produced?
- X-rays are not naturally occurring. They are produced in a generator when electrons collide with a the tungsten target (metal). Tissues attenuate (absorb/deflect) some x-rays based on its’ density.
How does attenuation differ in different density objects in an x-ray?
- Dense structures attenuate more x-rays and appear white as most of the x-ray is absorbed
- Less dense structures attenuate less x-rays and appear darker as most of the r-ray passes through without much absorption
What is therapeutic radiation?
- high level of radiation used to cause death of malignant cells (treatment of cancer)
What is radiolucency?
radiolucent is when some structures appear darker than expected due to its’ greater transparency than x-ray photons.
What is radiopacity?
radiopaque is when some structures appear brighter than expected (radiodense) because electromagnetic radiation is not able to pass through it.
What is hounsfield unit used for?
- measure density and used to differentiate between different fluids
