Diagnostic medical procedures, radioactivity

Medical uses of radioactive sources include sterilization, implants using radium, scans using iodine, and therapy using cobalt. X-rays are used in diagnostic medical procedures. In addition to medical facilities, radioactive materials may be found in research laboratories, educational institutions, industrial applications, and hazardous waste sites. 

The origins of nuclear medicine date to 1901, when the French physician Henri Danlos first used radium in the treatment of a tuberculous skin lesion. Since that time, uses of radioactivity have become a crucial part of modem medical care, both diagnostic and therapeutic. Current nuclear techniques can be grouped into three classes (1) in vivo procedures, (2) therapeutic procedures, and (3) imaging procedures. 

In the medical profession, as Hulka clips for the ligation of the Fallopian tube in sterilization procedures (Trathen and Stanley 1985), as a gold ball inserted into the capsule after enucleation of an eye (Forster and Dickey 1949)> as a radioactive isotope in the form of colloidal gold or seeds used either therapeutically or diagnostically (Merck Index 1983). 

Hospitals and larger medical clinics typically have a Department of Nuclear Medicine. This department is responsible for production, use, and disposal of radioactive materials used at the medical facihty. Medical uses of radionuclides fall into two hroad categories, diagnostic and therapeutic. A large hospital could use as many as 47 different radionuclides in as many as 194 diagnostic procedures and 29 therapeutic procedures. 

---