Scintigraphy

Scintigraphy
Scintigraphy
	Scintigraphy
ICD-9-CM	92.0-92.1
MeSH	D011877
OPS-301 code	3-70
	[edit on Wikidata]

Scintigraphy (from Latin scintilla, "spark"), also known as a gamma scan, is a diagnostic test in nuclear medicine, where radioisotopes attached to drugs that travel to a specific organ or tissue (radiopharmaceuticals) are taken internally and the emitted gamma radiation is captured by gamma cameras, which are external detectors that form two-dimensional images^[1] in a process similar to the capture of x-ray images. In contrast, SPECT and positron emission tomography (PET) form 3-dimensional images and are therefore classified as separate techniques from scintigraphy, although they also use gamma cameras to detect internal radiation. Scintigraphy is unlike a diagnostic X-ray where external radiation is passed through the body to form an image.

^ "Scintigraphy". Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers; Saunders; Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. 2007.

[1] "Scintigraphy". Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers; Saunders; Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. 2007.

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