Nuclear medicine is a type of medical specialty used to diagnose and treat diseases using radioactive substances in a safe and painless manner. It helps in determining medical conditions that are unavailable or require surgery or require very expensive diagnostic tests. It provides information about molecular activity in the body which is very useful in diagnosing and treating diseases in its early stage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Nuclear medicine is a medicine in which a small amount of a radioisotope or radio material is used. The combination of this radioisotope with the medicine is called a radiopharmaceutical. There are different radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of different diseases or for the diagnosis of different parts of the body. Nuclear medicine procedures provide medical information that may not be available or may require invasive surgeries and diagnostic tests, some of which may be painful. These procedures often identify diseases very early, long before certain medical problems are evident with other diagnostic tests. In addition to extensive use in diagnosis, nuclear medicine plays an active role in treatment. Hyperthyroidism, blood disorders, bone pain due to cancer are examples of conditions treatable with nuclear medicine. Nuclear medicine procedures are among the safest diagnostic imaging tests available. Nuclear medicine in diagnostics and imaging Nuclear diagnostics involves recording radiation emitted from within the body rather than radiation generated from external sources such as X-rays. In nuclear medicine imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are taken intravenously or orally . Then gamma cameras capture and form images of the radiation emitted by radiopharmaceuticals. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Nuclear medicine scans differ from radiodiagnostic tests because they determine the presence of disease based on biological changes rather than anatomical changes (such as tumor formation, nodules, etc.). Imaging modalities commonly used in nuclear medicine are single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). Nuclear Medicine Therapy Nuclear medicine is also used as a therapy to treat many types of cancer, tumors, heart disease, blood disorders, endocrine diseases and neurological disorders even gastrointestinal disorders. Some diseases that do not respond to chemotherapy, such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, may be subjected to radioimmunotherapy (RIT). Radioimmunotherapy is a personalized cancer treatment that involves radiation therapy with immunotherapy to mimic cellular activity within the immune system. Nuclear medicine is also used in personalized medicine. Works Cited International Atomic Energy Agency. (2019). Nuclear Medicine Resource Manual. Retrieved from https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1777_web.pdfZiessman, H.A., O'Malley, J.P., and Thrall, J.H. (2019). Nuclear Medicine: the requirements. Elsevier.Fahey, F.H. and Zukotynski, K. (Eds.). (2016). Atlas of nuclear medicine. Springer. Henkin, R. E., Bova, D., Dillehay, G., & Jaszczak, R. (2019). Nuclear medicine: a fundamental review. Oxford University Press.Ell, P.J., Gambhir, SS, & Hutton, BF (eds.). (2019). Nuclear medicine in clinical diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). Churchill Livingstone.O'Keefe, G.J. and Giammarile, F. (eds.). (2016). Nuclear medicine therapy:.