PET scan

[ pet skan ]

noun

, Computers, Medicine/Medical.

1. an image obtained by positron emission tomography, using a PET scanner.
2. an examination performed with a PET scanner.

PET scan

/ pĕt /

1. Short for positron emission tomography scan. A cross-sectional image of a metabolic process in a human or animal body produced by positron emission tomography.

PET scan

1. Acronym for p ositron e mission t omography, a medical test that is especially useful in showing how tissue or an organ is functioning, as opposed to just showing structure. In a PET scan, radioactive atoms are introduced into the body, where their chemical behavior is exactly the same as similar nonradioactive atoms. The positrons emitted when these nuclei decay collide with electrons in surrounding tissue, producing gamma rays that can then be detected by instruments outside the body.

Notes

A PET scan can show the blood flow through the brain , areas of high metabolic activity that indicate potential tumors , as well as areas of damaged heart tissue.

Word History and Origins

Origin of PET scan¹

First recorded in 1975–80; PET ( def ) + scan ( def )

Example Sentences

A positive blood biomarker test could also lead to significant mental and financial damage, with unnecessary and expensive procedures like an MRI, a PET scan or a spinal fluid test.

From Los Angeles Times

A simple blood test, taken as part of a research programme and backed up where necessary by a lumbar puncture and PET scan - which produce three-dimensional images of the inside of the body - can tell us if amyloid, a brain protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, is already present.

From BBC

As a result, cells hungry for the amino acid light up on the PET scan, and the intensity of that light shows how ravenous cells are for glutamine and where those cells are in the body.

From Science Daily

Some of the participants had detectable brain amyloid buildup as measured by PET scan.

From Science Daily

Each participant had a PET scan to measure brain amyloid and wore an actigraph 24 hours per day for one week.

From Science Daily