Whether your looking into Radiology / Radiography as a career or are
just beginning your training all the terms, lingo and acronyms that get
thrown around can be confusing. Were starting a segment where we will
give you a glossary of Radiology / Radiography terms, one letter each
day so you can absorb this in bite size chunks. Here we go...
baseline mammography - the first initial radiographic breast examination which is used for comparison with all future mammograms.
barium - a metallic chemical (chalky liquid) used to coat the inside of the organs so that they will show up on an x-ray.
barium x-rays - a type of diagnostic x-ray in
which barium is used to diagnose abnormalities of the digestive tract.
Barium enema, barium small-bowel enema, and barium swallow are types of
barium x-rays.
biopsy - a procedure in which tissue samples
are removed (with a needle or during surgery) from the body for
examination under a microscope; to determine if cancer or other abnormal
cells are present.
brachytherapy - a type of radiation treatment
in which the radioactive substance is placed inside the patient as close
as possible to the area being treated.
BUN - blood, urea, and nitrogen. It is a kidney function test in which the levels should range between 8 and 25 mg/100ml.