Radiology

Radiology is the branch of medicine that makes use of imaging techniques in order to diagnose illnesses and provide direction for the treatment of such illnesses inside the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography, which is why its name has a root that refers to radiation; however, it now encompasses all imaging modalities, including those that do not make use of electromagnetic radiation (such as ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging), in addition to those that do make use of electromagnetic radiation (such as computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, and nuclear medicine, including positron emission tomography) (PET). The term "interventional radiology" refers to the practise of performing medical operations, which are often only minimally invasive, under the supervision of imaging technology such as those described above.

The practise of radiology in its present form requires collaboration between specialists from a variety of other healthcare fields. A radiologist is a medical doctor who has finished the appropriate post-graduate training and interprets medical images, communicates these findings to other physicians by means of a report or verbally, and uses imaging to perform medical procedures that are minimally invasive. Radiology is a subspecialty of radiology, which means that radiologists interpret medical images. The nurse is responsible for the care of patients before to and after any scans or treatments that are performed. This includes the administration of drugs, monitoring of vital signs, and monitoring of patients who are sedated. A radiographer is a highly trained medical professional who, in some countries such as the United States and Canada, is referred to as a "radiologic technologist." Radiographers produce medical images for radiologists to interpret by making use of sophisticated technology and advanced positioning techniques. A radiographer may choose to specialise in one of the imaging modalities described above or have extended duties in image reporting, depending on the individual's education and the nation in which they work as a radiographer.