Cholescintigraphy

A diagnostic test in which a two-dimensional picture of a radiation source in the biliary system is obtained by the use of radioisotopes. Cholescintigraphy is done by nuclear medicine physicians to examine the biliary system and diagnose obstruction of the bile ducts (for example, by a gallstone or a tumor), disease of the gallbladder, and bile leaks. For cholescintigraphy, a radioactive chemical is injected intravenously. The chemical is removed from the blood by the liver, and secreted into the bile that the liver makes. The chemical then goes everywhere that the bile goes—into the bile ducts, the gallbladder, and the intestine. By placing a radiation-sensitive camera over the patient’s abdomen, a “picture” of the liver, bile ducts, and gallbladder may be obtained that corresponds to where the

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Examination of the gall bladder and bile ducts by nuclear medicine scanning; radionuclide cholecystography. [chole- + scintigraphy]

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cho·le·scin·tig·ra·phy -sin-'tig-rə-fē n, pl -phies scintigraphy of the biliary system

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cho·le·scin·tig·ra·phy (ko″lə-sin-tigґrə-fe) scintigraphy of the biliary tract.