What is "scintigraphy"

n. (context medicine English) A radiographic technique, using radioactive tracers, for the diagnosis of injuries to bones

Scintigraphy ("scint," Latin scintilla, spark) 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 radiation is captured by external detectors ( gamma cameras) to form two-dimensional images in a similar process 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 to 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.