Radionuclides and Their Uses in Urology

Abstract

Nuclear medicine utilizes radioactive tracers to assess organ function. These tracers are called radiopharmaceuticals, and many different radiopharmaceuticals are used depending on the organ or system to be studied. After administration to the patient, usually by intravenous injection, the amount of radiopharmaceutical appearing in different parts of the body is monitored by detecting the radioactivity. This can be done with nonimaging tests (e.g., GFR), involving only blood samples, or by taking images with a gamma camera (e.g., DMSA scan). Nuclear medicine images have poor spatial resolution demonstrating physiology rather than anatomy and so are complementary to other imaging modalities.