Bone Scans Tyldesley

A bone scan is a test that uses radioactive material to show up abnormalities in your bones, such as areas of increased activity that could indicate cancer, or areas with poor blood flow. These tests can show up problems many weeks before they would be seen on a standard x-ray image.

What is a bone scan?

A bone scan can be used to look at specific areas of concern, or in cases such as cancer, the whole skeleton can be scanned as a series of images. However, while a bone scan can reveal a wide range of problems, they are usually just one part of your diagnosis. You may also require x-rays and other scans, such as CT scans or MRI scans, along with blood tests and biopsies to complete the picture.

What can a bone scan tell you?

A bone scan may be requested for you for a variety of reasons. These include:

• Suspected bone cancer – a bone scan can identify bone cancer or show if cancer has spread from another area of the body

• Complex fractures – bone scans can show some fractures that do not show up on conventional x-rays, especially stress fractures and fractures in complex areas such as the spine, feet or hands

• Bone disease –bone scans can detect damage or deterioration of the bone caused by diseases such as Paget’s Disease

• Other bone problems – bone scans can detect abnormal activity caused by infections or other abnormalities and may explain the cause of bone pain…

Profile of the Author: This article on bone scans is written by Kathryn Senior, a freelance journalist who writes health, medical, biological, and pharmaceutical articles for national and international journals, newsletters and web sites.

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