Radiology Flashcards
1
Q
XR
radiographic densities (least to most)
advantages?
disadvantages?
bright on XR is called?
dark on XR is called?
A
- air, fat, water, bone, metal
- (+) fast, inexpensive, available everywhere, demonstrates bone/metal very well
- (-) RRL is 1/5, limited info soft tissues, artifacts
- bright = radiopaque, radiodense, high density
- dark = radiolucent, low density
2
Q
Fluoroscopy
advantages?
disadvantages?
A
- continuous XRs through pt onto “fluoroscope”
- movie like
- barium study
- during surgeries
- (+) see inside of bowel, bladder, other cavities, thecal sac; real time visualization, moderate expense; used for IR (biopsies, arthrograms, joint therapies, drainage procedures, IV catheter placement, stopping hemorrhage, treating stroke, etc) and is minimally invasive
- (-) significant RRL, 3/5 and 4/5 for personnel; contrast unpleasant; if using IR, fairly expensive, but still less than open surgery
3
Q
Nuclear Medicine
what?
advantages?
disadvantages?
aka?
revelaed anat called?
not revealed anat called?
A
- radionuclide + physciologic analog = radiopharmaceutical
- given IV but may be ingested, infused
- gamma rays project from radiopharm
- gamma camera detects rays and generates image
- ex: bone scan, nuclear stress test, HIDA scan, lodide with uptakes, PET scan etc
- (+) shows function of the organs
- (-) can’t see organ anatomy in great detail, expensive; RRL is 3/5 to 4/5
- scintigraphy
- increased uptake, hot, photon rich
- decreased uptake, cold, photon poor, photopenic
4
Q
US
advantages?
disadvantages?
revealed anatomy called?
brighter?
darker?
not seen?
A
- (+) no RRL; inexpensive; real time, anatomic and dynamic info; doppler shows blood flow; imaging in any plane
- (-) hard to see deep structures, difficult with obese or immobile pts.; can’t see through bone or air; hard to read if not trained
- echogenic
- hyperechoic
- hypoechoic
- anechoic
5
Q
CT
what?
advantages?
disadvantages?
bright?
dark?
A
- XR tube and multiple detectors measuring attenuation of radiation passed through pt
- (+) excellent cross-sectional anat; rapid; widely available; great resolution; great guidance for IR
- (-) costly; cumbersome for very ill; RRL 3/5
- metal or dense bone artifact
- high attenuation
- low attenuation
6
Q
MRI
what?
advantages?
disadvantages?
bright?
dark?
A
- strong magnetic fields align body protons, radio waves are transmitted to photons, protons absorb radio wave then resonate it back, detected and turned into an image
- (+) excellent cross-sectional anat; RRL 0/5; images directly in any plane; noninvasive vascular imaging; generally available
- (-) cost, a lot; contraindicated for some pts (pacemakers, defibrillators, claustrophobia); artifact from motion and metal
- bright - high signal intensity
- dark - low signal intensity
7
Q
For complete cervical spine, radiographs must include what? What techniques can you use to make this happen?
A
- must include visualization of C1 and base of skull superiorly as well as C7 and superior aspect of T1 inferiorly
- superiorly the mandible gets in the way so there is an AP open mouth view to see superior spine
- inferiorly the shoulder gets in the way so there are
- shoulder traction
- swimmer’s view
- high Kv radiographic technique (burn-through)
