RAD 211 Nuclear Medicine Questions
and Answers
Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that uses _____ to assess bodily functions
(primarily) and anatomy of the organ or system being studied, and to diagnose and treat
disease. - answer radioactive tracers
Radioactive tracers are aka _____ - answer radiopharmaceuticals
What are the two most common imaging modalities in Nuc med? - answer SPECT
(Single photon emission computed tomography) and PET positron emission
tomography
How are radioactive tracers normally introduced into the body? - answer Injected into
the blood stream, inhaled or swallowed
The radiotracer travels through the area being examined and gives off energy in the
form of _____ which are detected by a gamma or scintillation camera and a computer to
create images of the inside of your body - answer gamma rays
True or false: Nuclear medicine imaging provides unique information that often cannot
be obtained using other imaging procedures and only offers the potential to identify
disease in its later stages. - answer False (Nuclear medicine imaging provides
unique information that often cannot be obtained using other imaging procedures and
offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stages)
Who all is involved in a nuc med procedure? - answer Nuclear medicine physician,
Nuc med tech, physicist, pharmacist
_____ are unique medicinal formulations containing radioisotopes which are used in
major clinical areas for diagnosis and/or therapy - answer Radiopharmaceuticals
_____ are species of atoms that emit radiation as they undergo radioactive decay
through the emission of alpha particles (α), beta particles (β), or gamma rays (γ). -
answer Radionuclides
True or false: In the presence of disease, a tracer will often be distributed around the
body and/or processed differently. - answer True
True or false: Any increased physiological function, such as due to a fracture in the
bone, will usually mean decreased concentration of the tracer - answer False (Any
increased physiological function, such as due to a fracture in the bone, will usually
mean increased concentration of the tracer)
, Increased concentration of a tracer results in the appearance of a _____ - answer
hotspot
_____ is a focal increase in radio accumulation or a general increase in radio
accumulation throughout the physiological system - answer hotspot
_____ are a lack of radiation being received or recorded, not producing any image and
resulting in an area of no, or very light density - answer cold spots
Radionuclides with shorter half-lives are considered _____ - answer the daughters
Radionuclides with longer half-lives are considered _____ - answer the parents
The radionuclides used in nuclear medicine are produced in _____, or _____ - answer
reactors, particle accelerators
What is the half-life of naturally occurring radionuclides? - answer thousands of
years
True or false: Naturally occurring radionuclides are suitable for nuc med tests - answer
false (Natural radionuclides are unsuitable for nuclear medicine imaging because of
limited availability and the high absorbed dose the patient would receive.
The radionuclides for nuclear medicine are produced in a _____ through nuclear
reactions created between a specific target chemical and high-speed charged particles -
answer particle accelerator
The most commonly used radionuclide in nuclear medicine is _____ which is produced
in a generator system - answer Technetium-99 or 99mTc
The generator system uses _____ as the parent - answer 99Mo (molybdenum-99)
Because radiopharmaceuticals are administered to patients, they need to be _____ and
_____ - answer sterile, pyrogen-free
A radiopharmaceutical generally has two components: a _____ and a _____ - answer
radionuclide, pharmaceutical
After the radiopharmaceutical is administered, the target organ is localized, and the
radiation emitted from it can be detected by imaging instruments, or _____ - answer
gamma cameras
What is the desirable photon energy range of a radiopharmaceutical? - answer
100keV and 400keV
and Answers
Nuclear Medicine is a medical specialty that uses _____ to assess bodily functions
(primarily) and anatomy of the organ or system being studied, and to diagnose and treat
disease. - answer radioactive tracers
Radioactive tracers are aka _____ - answer radiopharmaceuticals
What are the two most common imaging modalities in Nuc med? - answer SPECT
(Single photon emission computed tomography) and PET positron emission
tomography
How are radioactive tracers normally introduced into the body? - answer Injected into
the blood stream, inhaled or swallowed
The radiotracer travels through the area being examined and gives off energy in the
form of _____ which are detected by a gamma or scintillation camera and a computer to
create images of the inside of your body - answer gamma rays
True or false: Nuclear medicine imaging provides unique information that often cannot
be obtained using other imaging procedures and only offers the potential to identify
disease in its later stages. - answer False (Nuclear medicine imaging provides
unique information that often cannot be obtained using other imaging procedures and
offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stages)
Who all is involved in a nuc med procedure? - answer Nuclear medicine physician,
Nuc med tech, physicist, pharmacist
_____ are unique medicinal formulations containing radioisotopes which are used in
major clinical areas for diagnosis and/or therapy - answer Radiopharmaceuticals
_____ are species of atoms that emit radiation as they undergo radioactive decay
through the emission of alpha particles (α), beta particles (β), or gamma rays (γ). -
answer Radionuclides
True or false: In the presence of disease, a tracer will often be distributed around the
body and/or processed differently. - answer True
True or false: Any increased physiological function, such as due to a fracture in the
bone, will usually mean decreased concentration of the tracer - answer False (Any
increased physiological function, such as due to a fracture in the bone, will usually
mean increased concentration of the tracer)
, Increased concentration of a tracer results in the appearance of a _____ - answer
hotspot
_____ is a focal increase in radio accumulation or a general increase in radio
accumulation throughout the physiological system - answer hotspot
_____ are a lack of radiation being received or recorded, not producing any image and
resulting in an area of no, or very light density - answer cold spots
Radionuclides with shorter half-lives are considered _____ - answer the daughters
Radionuclides with longer half-lives are considered _____ - answer the parents
The radionuclides used in nuclear medicine are produced in _____, or _____ - answer
reactors, particle accelerators
What is the half-life of naturally occurring radionuclides? - answer thousands of
years
True or false: Naturally occurring radionuclides are suitable for nuc med tests - answer
false (Natural radionuclides are unsuitable for nuclear medicine imaging because of
limited availability and the high absorbed dose the patient would receive.
The radionuclides for nuclear medicine are produced in a _____ through nuclear
reactions created between a specific target chemical and high-speed charged particles -
answer particle accelerator
The most commonly used radionuclide in nuclear medicine is _____ which is produced
in a generator system - answer Technetium-99 or 99mTc
The generator system uses _____ as the parent - answer 99Mo (molybdenum-99)
Because radiopharmaceuticals are administered to patients, they need to be _____ and
_____ - answer sterile, pyrogen-free
A radiopharmaceutical generally has two components: a _____ and a _____ - answer
radionuclide, pharmaceutical
After the radiopharmaceutical is administered, the target organ is localized, and the
radiation emitted from it can be detected by imaging instruments, or _____ - answer
gamma cameras
What is the desirable photon energy range of a radiopharmaceutical? - answer
100keV and 400keV
