PET SCAN Definition & Meaning

PET scan

[ pet skan ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Computers, Medicine/Medical.

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

PET scan

/ ��ĕ�� /

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

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.

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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.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of PET scan¹

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

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

On Monday, he delivered a positive update in a Parade article, saying his doctors had “carpet-bombed me for three more treatments” after seeing improvement in a PET scan that was done halfway through chemo.

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To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the results of CSF tests compared to the gold standard PET imaging, the Munich researchers evaluated the data of over 400 patients with suspected Alzheimer's disease who were given both a CSF amyloid test and a PET scan of the brain at LMU University Hospital between 2013 and 2024.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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