Radiology Review Flashcards
(30 cards)
Reasons for Plain films
- diagnostic with no additional imaging required.
- preliminary image to plan for more specific imaging studies like CT or MRI.
- interpretation of other imaging procedures like V/Q lung scan.
e.g. fracture, chest x-ray
plain films technology
high energy radiation waves
reasons for CT
- finding location of pathology
- 3D reconstructions
e.g. sinusitis, trauma, cancer
CT technology
xray + computer
reasons for MRI
brain tumor, knee joint injury, spinal cord compression
MRI technology
strong magnet, radio waves, computer
reasons for ultrasound
- simple/painless way to examine structures
ectopic pregnancy, DVT
ultrasound technology
high frequency sound waves, computer/real time image
reasons for nuclear medicine
evaluate function of an organ
e.g. parathyroid adenoma, bone scan
nuclear medicine technology
radioactive substance administered inside the body
angiogram reasons
- best picture of arteries
- rarely done (replaced by MRI/CT)
e.g. aneurysms, embolisms, diabetes (eye)
angiogram technology
catheter in femoral/brachial artery, contrast, x-ray
3 darkest items on x-ray and CT
air, lung, soft tissue
4 medium items on x-ray/CT
fat, water, CSF, blood
3 bright items on xray/CT
muscle, calculus (calcification), bone
What organs enhance when intravenous contrast is given for MRI or CT
solid organs like liver and kidney enhance or get brighter on CT and MRI when intravenous contrast is given
what is hyperechoic on an ultrasound?
hyperechoic= white= calcium, air, fat
is fluid bright or dark on MRI?
bright!
imaging procedure of choice with head trauma
CT
imaging procedure of choice for a skull lesion
CT- provides the best evaluation of bone
bone appears ___ on MRI
dark
bone appears ___ on CT
bright
the term density is used with
CT (attenuation value is measured in Hounsfield unit (HU))
the term signal intensity is used with
MRI