Radiology and Medicine
Chapter 20
Chabner: The Language of Medicine
St. Lawrence College
Course: BIOL 1050 - Biomedical Sciences for HIM Professionals
Outline Reviewer and Notes
Radiology
- is the medical specialty concerned with the study and application of x-rays and other technologies to produce and
interpret images of the human body for the diagnosis of a disease
X-rays
• invisible waves of energy that are produced by an energy source
• Useful in the diagnosis and treatment of disease
Nuclear Medicine
• Medical specialty that uses radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease
o Radionuclides
• radioactive substances
• Materials that emit high-speed particles and energy-containing rays (radioactivity) from the interior of their matter
• Radioactivity - emitted particles and rays
▪ 3 Types of Radioactivity:
• Alpha Particles
• Beta Particles
• Gamma Rays - Used effectively as a diagnostic label to trace the path and uptake of chemical substances
in the body
Radiologist - Physician who specializes in the practice of diagnostic radiology
Nuclear Medicine Physician - specializes in diagnostic radionuclide scanning procedures
Radiologic Technologists - allied health care professionals who work with physicians in the fields of radiology and nuclear
medicine
• Types:
o Radiographers - aid physicians in administering diagnostic x-ray procedures
o Nuclear medicine technologists - attend to patients undergoing nuclear medicine procedures and operative devices
under the direction of a nuclear physician
o Sonographers - aid physicians in performing ultrasound procedures
Characteristics of X-Rays
1. Ability to cause exposure of a photographic plate
2. Ability to penetrate different substances to varying degrees
• Radiolucent - if a substance permits passage of most of the x-rays
• Radiopaque - substances (bones) that absorb most of the x-rays they are exposed to
3. Invisibility
• Film Badge - detect and record amount of radiation exposure
4. Travel in straight lines
5. Scattering of x-rays
6. Ionization
X-Ray Studies
Digital Radiography - form of x-ray imaging in which digital x-ray sensors are used instead of traditional photographic film
Mammography - uses low-dose x-rays to visualize breast tissue
Computed Tomography (CT)
• CAT Scan - because technique originally was computerized axial tomography
1
, Radiology and Medicine
Chapter 20
Chabner: The Language of Medicine
St. Lawrence College
Course: BIOL 1050 - Biomedical Sciences for HIM Professionals
Outline Reviewer and Notes
• Made by beaming x-rays at multiple angles through a section of the patient's body
• Create multiple cross-sectional images using a computer
• Highly sensitive in detecting diseases in bones and can provide images of internal organs
• Multidetector CT or MDCT scanners - state-of-the-art scanners that produce 64, 128, 256 and 320 images per rotations
Contrast Studies
• When x-rays pass through two adjacent body parts composed of substances of the same density, their shadows cannot be
distinguished from one another on the film or on the screen, thus, a contrast medium into the structure or fluid to be
visualized so that a specific part, organ tube, or liquid can be seen as negative imprint on the dense contrast agent
Contrast Materials:
• Barium Sulfate
o Radiopaque substance that is mixed in water and used for examination of upper and lower GI tract
• Upper GI series (UGI) - oral ingestion of barium sulfate (esophagus, stomach, duodenum)
• Small bowel follow-through (SBFT) series - traces the passage of barium in a sequential manner as it moves
through the small intestine
• Barium Enema (BE) study - lower GI series that opacifies the lumen of the large intestine using an enema containing
barium sulfate
• Double-contrast study - uses both a radiopaque and radiolucent contrast medium
• Iodine Compounds
o Radiopaque fluids containing up to 50% iodine
• Tests using iodine compound:
▪ Angiography - xray image (angiogram) of blood vessels and heart chambers is obtained after contrast is
injected through a catheter into the appropriate blood vessel or heart chamber
▪ Cholangiography - x-ray imaging after injection of contrast into bile ducts
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) - injecting contrast directly into the common
bile duct
• Intraoperative cholangiography - injecting contrast after surgery of the gallbladder or biliary duct
• Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography - alternate route for injection of contrast via needle through
the skin and into the liver
▪ Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) - x-ray image of contrast-injected blood vessels by taking two x-ray
pictures (the first without contrast) and using a computer to subtract obscuring shadows from the second
image
▪ Hysterosalphingography - x-ray record of the endometrial cavity and fallopian tubes is obtained after injection
of contrast material through the vagina and into the endocervical canal
▪ Myelography - x-ray imaging of the spinal cord after injection of contrast agent into the subarachnoid space
surrounding the spinal cord
• Done when patients cannot undergo MRI
• CT Myelography - after injection, x-ray films and a CT scan are obtained
▪ Pyelography - x-ray imaging of the renal pelvis and urinary tract
• Retrograde pyelography - catheter is placed through the urethra, bladder and ureter and into the renal
pelvis to inject contrast
• Urography - describes the process of recording x-ray images of the urinary tract after the introduction of
contrast
Digital Imaging Techniques - used to enhance conventional and fluoroscopic x-ray images
Interventional Radiology
• Invasive procedures (therapeutic or diagnostic) usually under CT or ultrasound guidance or with fluoroscopic imaging
2
Chapter 20
Chabner: The Language of Medicine
St. Lawrence College
Course: BIOL 1050 - Biomedical Sciences for HIM Professionals
Outline Reviewer and Notes
Radiology
- is the medical specialty concerned with the study and application of x-rays and other technologies to produce and
interpret images of the human body for the diagnosis of a disease
X-rays
• invisible waves of energy that are produced by an energy source
• Useful in the diagnosis and treatment of disease
Nuclear Medicine
• Medical specialty that uses radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease
o Radionuclides
• radioactive substances
• Materials that emit high-speed particles and energy-containing rays (radioactivity) from the interior of their matter
• Radioactivity - emitted particles and rays
▪ 3 Types of Radioactivity:
• Alpha Particles
• Beta Particles
• Gamma Rays - Used effectively as a diagnostic label to trace the path and uptake of chemical substances
in the body
Radiologist - Physician who specializes in the practice of diagnostic radiology
Nuclear Medicine Physician - specializes in diagnostic radionuclide scanning procedures
Radiologic Technologists - allied health care professionals who work with physicians in the fields of radiology and nuclear
medicine
• Types:
o Radiographers - aid physicians in administering diagnostic x-ray procedures
o Nuclear medicine technologists - attend to patients undergoing nuclear medicine procedures and operative devices
under the direction of a nuclear physician
o Sonographers - aid physicians in performing ultrasound procedures
Characteristics of X-Rays
1. Ability to cause exposure of a photographic plate
2. Ability to penetrate different substances to varying degrees
• Radiolucent - if a substance permits passage of most of the x-rays
• Radiopaque - substances (bones) that absorb most of the x-rays they are exposed to
3. Invisibility
• Film Badge - detect and record amount of radiation exposure
4. Travel in straight lines
5. Scattering of x-rays
6. Ionization
X-Ray Studies
Digital Radiography - form of x-ray imaging in which digital x-ray sensors are used instead of traditional photographic film
Mammography - uses low-dose x-rays to visualize breast tissue
Computed Tomography (CT)
• CAT Scan - because technique originally was computerized axial tomography
1
, Radiology and Medicine
Chapter 20
Chabner: The Language of Medicine
St. Lawrence College
Course: BIOL 1050 - Biomedical Sciences for HIM Professionals
Outline Reviewer and Notes
• Made by beaming x-rays at multiple angles through a section of the patient's body
• Create multiple cross-sectional images using a computer
• Highly sensitive in detecting diseases in bones and can provide images of internal organs
• Multidetector CT or MDCT scanners - state-of-the-art scanners that produce 64, 128, 256 and 320 images per rotations
Contrast Studies
• When x-rays pass through two adjacent body parts composed of substances of the same density, their shadows cannot be
distinguished from one another on the film or on the screen, thus, a contrast medium into the structure or fluid to be
visualized so that a specific part, organ tube, or liquid can be seen as negative imprint on the dense contrast agent
Contrast Materials:
• Barium Sulfate
o Radiopaque substance that is mixed in water and used for examination of upper and lower GI tract
• Upper GI series (UGI) - oral ingestion of barium sulfate (esophagus, stomach, duodenum)
• Small bowel follow-through (SBFT) series - traces the passage of barium in a sequential manner as it moves
through the small intestine
• Barium Enema (BE) study - lower GI series that opacifies the lumen of the large intestine using an enema containing
barium sulfate
• Double-contrast study - uses both a radiopaque and radiolucent contrast medium
• Iodine Compounds
o Radiopaque fluids containing up to 50% iodine
• Tests using iodine compound:
▪ Angiography - xray image (angiogram) of blood vessels and heart chambers is obtained after contrast is
injected through a catheter into the appropriate blood vessel or heart chamber
▪ Cholangiography - x-ray imaging after injection of contrast into bile ducts
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) - injecting contrast directly into the common
bile duct
• Intraoperative cholangiography - injecting contrast after surgery of the gallbladder or biliary duct
• Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography - alternate route for injection of contrast via needle through
the skin and into the liver
▪ Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) - x-ray image of contrast-injected blood vessels by taking two x-ray
pictures (the first without contrast) and using a computer to subtract obscuring shadows from the second
image
▪ Hysterosalphingography - x-ray record of the endometrial cavity and fallopian tubes is obtained after injection
of contrast material through the vagina and into the endocervical canal
▪ Myelography - x-ray imaging of the spinal cord after injection of contrast agent into the subarachnoid space
surrounding the spinal cord
• Done when patients cannot undergo MRI
• CT Myelography - after injection, x-ray films and a CT scan are obtained
▪ Pyelography - x-ray imaging of the renal pelvis and urinary tract
• Retrograde pyelography - catheter is placed through the urethra, bladder and ureter and into the renal
pelvis to inject contrast
• Urography - describes the process of recording x-ray images of the urinary tract after the introduction of
contrast
Digital Imaging Techniques - used to enhance conventional and fluoroscopic x-ray images
Interventional Radiology
• Invasive procedures (therapeutic or diagnostic) usually under CT or ultrasound guidance or with fluoroscopic imaging
2
