What is nuclear medicine?

Nuclear medicine is a branch of radiology that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose or treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body. Nuclear medicine or radionuclide imaging procedures are noninvasive and usually painless medical tests that help physicians diagnose medical conditions. These imaging scans use small amounts of radioactive materials called radiopharmaceuticals or radiotracers.

Some of the more common tests include the following:

• VQ Scans (lung scans) A VQ (Ventilation-Perfusion) scan looks at airflow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs.
• Hida Scans - A HIDA scan, which stands for hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan, creates pictures of your liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and small intestine.
• Iodine, I131 Therapy
• Gastric Emptying Studies
• Renal Scans - used to examine the kidneys and to detect any abnormalities, such as tumors or obstruction of the renal blood flow.
• Thyroid and Parathyroid Scans - used to evaluate thyroid function.
• Bone Scans - used to evaluate any degenerative or arthritic changes in the joints, to detect bone diseases and tumors, and/or to determine the cause of bone pain or inflammation.
• Gallium Scans - used to diagnose active infectious and/or inflammatory diseases, tumors and abscesses.
• Cardiac Scans - used to identify abnormal blood flow to the heart, to determine the extent of the damage of the heart muscle after a heart attack, and/or to measure heart function.
• Brain Scans - used to investigate problems within the brain and/or in the blood circulation to the brain.
• Breast Scans - often used in conjunction with mammograms to locate cancerous tissue in the breast. 
• PET (Positron Emission Tomography)