Nuclear Medicine

Question 1

Spontaneous emission of energy in the form of particles or treats coming from the interior of a substance.

Answer 1

radioactivity

Question 2

Substance that gives off high-energy particles or rays as it disintegrates.

Answer 2

radionuclide (or radioisotope)

Question 3

The time required for a radioactive substance to lose half of its radioactivity by disintegration.

Answer 3

half-life

Question 4

The three types of emitted radioactivity.

Answer 4

alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays

Question 5

Type of emitted radioactivity that has greater penetrating ability and more ionizing power, which makes it useful to physicians in both the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Answer 5

gamma rays

Question 6

Essentially a pure gamma emitter with a half-life of 6 hours whose properties make it the most frequently used radionuclide in diagnostic imaging.

Answer 6

technetium-99m

Question 7

In the test tube.

Answer 7

in vitro

Question 8

In the body.

Answer 8

in vivo

Question 9

In vitro procedure that combines the use of radioactive chemicals and antibodies to detect hormones and drugs in a patient’s blood.

Answer 9

radioimmunoassay (RIA)

Question 10

The combination of the radionuclide and a drug or chemical.

Answer 10

radiopharmaceutical (or radiolabeled compound)

Question 11

A sensitive, extension detection instrument used to determine the distribution and localization of the radiopharmaceutical in various organs, tissues, and fluids.

Answer 11

gamma camera

Question 12

The procedure of making an image by tracking the distribution of radioactive substance in the body.

Answer 12

radionuclide scanning

Question 13

Process of obtaining an image using a radioisotope.

Answer 13

scintigraphy

Question 14

Radionuclide technique which produces images of the distribution of radioactivity in the body through emissions of positrons.

Answer 14

positron emission tomography (PET or PET scan)

Question 15

Radionuclides are used as tags, or labels, attached to chemicals and followed as they travel through the body.

Answer 15

tracer studies

Question 16

Rate of absorption of a radionuclide into an organ or tissue.

Answer 16

uptake

Question 17

Radioactive tracer is injected intravenously and a computer reconstructs a 3D image based on a composite of many views.

Answer 17

single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)

Question 18

Consists of 2 scans: a ventilation scan performed using an inhaled radiopharmaceutical and a perfusion scan using an intravenously injected radiopharmaceutical. Used to evaluate for pulmonary embolism.

Answer 18

ventilation-perfusion study (V/Q scan)

Question 19

Attaching a radionuclide to a chemical and following its path in the body.

Answer 19

tagging