Oas Community College

Calzada, Oas, Albay

Name: ABEGAIL C. RELUNIA Course: BSED 3C-SCIENCE Date: April 13,2021

Module 4- (WEEK 4- April 10, 2021)

Subject Code: Biology 4 Description: Anatomy and Physiology

Module Title: Medical Imaging

Description:

For thousands of years, fear of the dead and legal sanctions limited the ability of anatomists and
physicians to study the internal structures of the human body. An inability to control bleeding, infection,
and pain made surgeries infrequent, and those that were performed—such as wound suturing,
amputations, tooth and tumor removals, skull drilling, and cesarean births—did not greatly advance
knowledge about internal anatomy. Theories about the function of the body and about disease were
therefore largely based on external observations and imagination. During the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, however, the detailed anatomical drawings of Italian artist and anatomist Leonardo da Vinci
and Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius were published, and interest in human anatomy began to
increase. Medical schools began to teach anatomy using human dissection; although some resorted to
grave robbing to obtain corpses. Laws were eventually passed that enabled students to dissect the
corpses of criminals and those who donated their bodies for research. Still, it was not until the late
nineteenth century that medical researchers discovered non-surgical methods to look inside the living
body.

Objectives:

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

Discuss the uses and drawbacks of X-ray imaging.

Identify four modern medical imaging techniques and how they are used

Pre- Test:

1. A CT or CAT scan relies on a circling scanner that revolves around the patient’s body.
Watch this video (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/CATscan) to learn more about CT and CAT
scans. What type of radiation does a CT scanner use?

 Computed tomography (CT) is an imaging procedure that uses special x-

ray equipment to create detailed pictures, or scans, of areas inside the
body. It is sometimes called computerized tomography or computerized
axial tomography (CAT).The term tomography comes from the Greek
words tomos (a cut, a slice, or a section) and graphein (to write or
record). Each picture created during a CT procedure shows the organs,
bones, and other tissues in a thin “slice” of the body. The entire series of
pictures produced in CT is like a loaf of sliced bread—you can look at
 each slice individually (2-dimensional pictures), or you can look at the
whole loaf (a 3-dimensional picture). Computer programs are used to
create both types of pictures.

CT imaging involves the use of x-rays, which are a form

of ionizing radiation. Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase
the risk of cancer. Standard x-ray procedures, such as routine  chest x-
rays and mammography, use relatively low levels of ionizing radiation.
The radiation exposure from CT is higher than that from standard x-ray
procedures, but the increase in cancer risk from one CT scan is still
small. Not having the procedure can be much riskier than having it,
especially if CT is being used to diagnose cancer or another serious
condition in someone who has signs or symptoms of disease.

2. A patient undergoing an MRI is surrounded by a tube- shaped scanner. Watch this video
(http://openstaxcollege.org/l/MRI) to learn more about MRIs. What is the function of
magnets in an MRI?
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging
technology that produces three dimensional detailed anatomical images.
It is often used for disease detection, diagnosis, and treatment
monitoring. It is based on sophisticated technology that excites and
detects the change in the direction of the rotational axis of protons found
in the water that makes up living tissues.
MRIs employ powerful magnets which produce a strong magnetic
field that forces protons in the body to align with that field. When a
radiofrequency current is then pulsed through the patient, the protons are
stimulated, and spin out of equilibrium, straining against the pull of the
magnetic field.

POST TEST

Answer the following:

1. Can medical diagnostic imaging procedures cause future reproductive problems?

 There have been no instances of reproductive problems related to radiation dose
from diagnostic exams in future parents. The dose from common diagnostic exams is
too small to cause permanent infertility problems or detectable genetic abnormalities
in future children.
Sometimes patients who have had a diagnostic imaging exam are advised to
wait six to 12 months before becoming pregnant. These types of delays are
unrelated to the effects of the imaging exam. The recommendation is usually based
on an underlying medical issue that might make delaying pregnancy advisable or
 necessary. For instance, the imaging exam may have revealed a new medical
condition for the patient that could need future medical care. That care may have to
be delayed should the patient become pregnant. Or, the physician might want the
patient to fully recover from an illness before becoming pregnant. Although the
recommendation for delay is based on a medical reason and is not related to
radiation, it can lead to unfortunate misunderstandings about the effects of radiation.
Patients should discuss these issues with their healthcare providers.

2. How big is the risk of this medical imaging to future generations?

 We know that very high radiation doses can damage or kill eggs or sperm. However,
diagnostic radiology (e.g., x-ray or CT) uses only low radiation doses. These doses
are much lower than those that could produce destructive effects to eggs or sperm.
There have been many investigations regarding the possible genetic effects on
offspring, after the parent’s exposure to low levels of radiation. None of these
investigations have identified any negative effects. Therefore, diagnostic radiation
that involves exposing reproductive organs to low levels of radiation is considered
safe regarding genetic effects.
Radiation exposure to sperm or eggs is typically negligible if the testicles or ovaries
are not directly exposed. Even if reproductive cells are directly exposed, the dose
from a diagnostic exam poses essentially no risk. No studies have shown that low-
level radiation exposure to eggs or sperm causes birth defects or miscarriage.
Therefore, the risk is exceedingly small (essentially zero). In other words, the risk is
less than the three percent overall chance that all fetuses have of birth defects from
factors unrelated to radiation.
Interestingly, many cancer patients who experienced temporary infertility after high
doses of radiation treatment with chemotherapy, have reported bearing healthy
children, once recovered. In other words, for those that maintain or regain fertility, no
proven lasting effects from radiation are associated with their offspring.

3. Are children safe from radiation? Is it safe for a child to have x - rays?
 In general, chest X-rays are very safe. Although any exposure to radiation poses
some risk to the body, the amount used in a chest X-ray is small and not
considered dangerous.
4. What are the effects of radiation?
 Exposure to very high levels of radiation, such as being close to an atomic blast,
can cause acute health effects such as skin burns and acute radiation syndrome
(“radiation sickness"). It can also result in long-term health effects such
as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
 When ionizing radiation causes DNA damage (mutations) in male or female
reproductive (“germ”) cells, that damage can be transmitted to the next
generation (F1). This is in contrast to mutations in somatic cells, which are not
transmitted. Detection of human germ cell mutations is difficult, especially at low
doses.