Twyla B. Bartel
Bone scintigraphy is one of the most common functional imaging procedures performed in a nuclear medicine department. It is a sensitive diagnostic test for detection of both benign and malignant osseous abnormalities. Radionuclide bone scans can detect altered metabolic activity much earlier than structural changes appear on anatomic radiographs or cross-sectional imaging such as CT and MRI. Following radiopharmaceutical injection, the tracer accumulation is dependent upon both blood flow and osteoblastic activity. In general, there is increased vascularity and bone remodeling in most benign or malignant bone conditions, and this is often seen as an area of increased SNMMI Practice Guideline for Bone Scintigraphy 4.0