Tc-99m
Medical abbreviation · Medical Imaging
| Stands for | Technetium-99m |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
Tc-99m stands for Technetium-99m, a medical imaging abbreviation.
Metastable radioactive isotope of technetium whose gamma rays suit gamma camera imaging; it is the most widely used medical radioisotope and is involved in the large majority of nuclear medicine scans. Attached to different carrier molecules, it images bone, heart perfusion, lungs, kidneys, thyroid, gallbladder and sentinel lymph nodes.
Example: Bone scan: 25 mCi Tc-99m MDP; uptake in L2 and the right sixth rib.
Usage notes
Its six-hour half-life is long enough for imaging yet short enough to limit dose. Hospitals obtain it from generators containing molybdenum-99, which decays into technetium-99m and is produced in a handful of reactors worldwide, so reactor outages have caused global shortages. The "m" stands for metastable.
Related abbreviations
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- PI-RADS – Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System
- POCUS – Point-of-care ultrasound
- SPECT – Single-photon emission computed tomography
- STIR – Short tau inversion recovery
- SUV – Standardized uptake value
- TVUS – Transvaginal ultrasound
- US – Ultrasound
- USG – Ultrasonography
- V/Q scan – Ventilation-perfusion scan
- VCUG – Voiding cystourethrogram
- XR – X-ray (radiograph)
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This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.