Is there a difference between an x-ray exam and a nuclear medicine test?
Both of these tests are done with ionizing radiation—the x-ray exam is performed with machine-generated radiation while the nuclear medicine test is generally performed using injected liquid radioactive materials. X-ray exams generally show structure while nuclear medicine scans can show anatomy, function, and disease state. X-ray machines can be turned off like a lightbulb (the radiation exposure ends when the machine is off) while the radiation in a patient’s body from a nuclear medicine test decays over time (it cannot be turned off with a switch).
