Nuclear Medicine in Clinical Practice: Selective Correlation With Ultrasound and Computerized Tomography

Nuclear medicine is the application of radionuclides to the detection and diagnosis of diseases by imaging and by in vitro techniques. Nuclear medicine has demonstrated many capabilities in these diagnostic areas and in therapy during its development over more than 30 years. The basic function of nuclear medicine is to evaluate physiologic function rather than anatomic detail in the human body. Nuclear medicine had its origin in the evaluation of physiologic function of the thyroid, and this basic functional testing continutes as the substance of virtually all nuclear medicine procedures to this date. The text reviews in practical fashion both the physiologic basis and technical aspects of the various diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures as well as selective correlations with ultrasound and computerized tomography. The purpose of this book is to give the most up-to-date statement of the continuing development of nuclear medicine and to give the reader a good understanding of the frequently complementary and occasionally competitive relationships between nuclear medicine and other diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. This book is of particular interest to all physicians and residents-in-training specializing in the areas of nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology, and radiation oncology; it is also of interest to specialists in other medical/surgical fields, including orthopedics and internal medicine, and to medical schools and their libraries.