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More and more often,
doctors recommend that their patients undergo diagnostic imaging exams.
Diagnostic imaging is a group of examinations that help doctors see
inside your body without needing to do surgery.
Why are doctors
scheduling these exams more than ever before? Because recent
technological advancements have made diagnostic imaging more helpful
than ever for your doctor. The more helpful physicians feel a diagnostic
imaging exam will be, the more likely they are is to schedule them.
The Beginning: X-Rays
The first diagnostic
imaging exams were x-rays. Most of us have had an x-ray exam. You have
probably had an x-ray exam if you have broken a bone. Also, dentists do
x-rays of your teeth as part of a typical check-up. X-rays are excellent
for showing bones.
The potential for the
use of x-rays in medicine was discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad
Roentgen, a scientist who was experimenting with a type of energy called
“radiation.” Roentgen found that radiation can pass through objects and
create photos of the bones inside of a human body. He called his
discovery “x-rays.”
Before Roentgen
discovered x-rays, the only way doctors could see inside a patient was
to perform surgery. Roentgen’s discovery revolutionized medicine.
Today: X-Rays and Beyond
While x-rays are still
commonly used in health care today, there are many other types of exams
that allow doctors to investigate the inside of a patient’s body. These
include MRI, CT (or “CAT”) scan, and ultrasound, to name a few. Advances
in diagnostic imaging continue to revolutionize health care.
Your doctor chooses the
exam that is best for you given your symptoms, your diagnosis, and the
body part that needs to be examined. Diagnostic imaging exams can
provide your doctor with the detailed information she needs to provide a
higher quality of care.
Ask your doctor why he
or she has chosen a particular diagnostic examination for you. Learn to
be a part of your health care. By learning about diagnostic imaging, you
are sure to become a more informed health care consumer!
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