What does a radiologist do? Radiologists are doctors who work in the medical field. They specialize in diagnosing diseases, injuries, and other issues that a person might be experiencing. Sometimes diseases and injuries can not be seen or diagnose with the naked eye. Therefore advanced technologies have been invented to aid with the process of diagnosis. Have you or a childhood friend ever experienced falling off your bike? The external injuries are clearly seen but what if there is a problem that you can not examine? This is where a radiologist comes into play. They use different medical equipment to get a clear view of the human body.
One of the medical imaging machines that are used is the X-ray. X-rays are A-type electromagnetic radiation that is able to pass through objects. These X-rays can reveal the internal injuries that might have occurred. Radiologists specialize in treating a wide range of problems, not just broken bones. They also use a wide range of medical equipment to obtain different imageries from inside the body. MRI, CT, and PET scans are commonly depended upon to assist in diagnostics. (CT) computed tomography scans use an X-ray beam in which will maneuver in a circular motion around the body. This motion allows the machine to obtain different images from different areas to create several sectional photos of different areas of the body that is being scanned.
These images are layered and collectively will create a clear image of organs, tissue, bones, and Blood vessels inside the body. If a radiologist sees something out of the ordinary, they can proceed in aiding your doctor in treating the disease or injury. The (PET) positron emission tomography scan is used to check for diseases. There are therapies used that contain radioactive tracers that are injected or swallowed by the patient. The Radiologist can detect heart defects, cancer, tumors, brain disorders, and oxygen use by the body.
There are different avenues of radiology. Check out bulk bill radiology clinic For more info. There are chest radiology, Brest imaging, Musculoskeletal radiology, and Emergency radiology just to name a few. The information that is gathered by the radiologist is then given to your physician. The physician then proceeds in the correct treatment from the information that was given to him or her. The radiologist gathers the needed information for your personal doctor. This is called a radiology report. It is interesting that they do not perform surgery. They are an important group of people who pass on important information for successful treatment. But sometimes they also get involved with directly treating patients. This is true with treating people with cancer. They closely monitor and adjust treatments according to the patient’s progress. They use radiation to directly treat cancer. They closely monitor the amount of radiation that is used in the treatments so that the patient is not burned or further injured. This therapy works by creating small breaks in the DNA inside cancer cells.
This intern causes the cells to die and stop dividing. This prevents cancer from spreading and even shrink the growth. The normal cells near the treated area can be affected as well. The body can recover the normal cells and heal itself. Most types of radiation treatment are successful. It is used to shrink early detected cancer. There are different types of radiation therapy. There is external beam radiation therapy and internal beam radiation therapy. External beam radiation therapy derives from a machine that targets radiation directly at cancer. It is a local treatment. It treats only a specific location of your body that is infected. Internal radiation therapy is a treatment that is target inside your body. The radiation is in solid form or liquid form depending on the therapy. The solid form is called brachytherapy. In this treatment, the use of seeds, ribbons, or capsules is introduced to the area of the body where the tumor resides.
There is also an internal radiation therapy that uses a liquid source. This is called systematic therapy. It is called this due to the fact that the liquid travels in the blood and throughout your body. The source of radiation can then arrive at the area of the tumor and then hopefully the tumor will shrink. External beam radiation therapy is used to treat cancers in the breast, lungs, head, breast, eye, and prostate. Then you have systemic radiation therapy which normally called radioactive iodine. This is used to treat thyroid cancer. Often the radiologist will use these types of treatments to shrink cancer before the patient undergoes surgery. This is so the surgeon can remove the growth much easier and the growth will less likely return after surgery. Radiology can be a stressful job due to work overload and sometimes equipment failure. It is not an easy job and can be very stressful. When the hospitals are busy and there is not enough time to perform the CT, PET, or MRI scans for everyone a day.
The doctors then have to prioritize the severity of each case. This can happen to a doctor that works in emergency radiology. Some people also bring up the concerns of the occupational hazards of being a radiologist. They can receive an annual x-ray dose of 3.2 mSv here in the United States on average. This does Cary a risk of contracting cancerous cells within the body. This ya caused concerns within the medical field. There are many precautions that radiologists should take to prevent cancer. The problem is not in being exposed once but being exposed many times every year, year after year. If the radiologist works in a busy clinic or hospital that can increase the occupational risk of getting sick.
That being said there are many risks involved with different occupations. As long as precautions are taken the doctors should not be in too much danger. Radiologists are a hard-working group of doctors that put their lives on the line to help normal people like you and me to receive the correct treatments. They are directly and indirectly involved in saving many lives. They deserve a lot of respect and gratitude.
