Menu UF Health Home Menu

Nuclear Scintigraphy

The University of Florida Veterinary Hospitals utilize an MIE digital nuclear scintigraphy unit.

How it works

Bone scan image: The dark areas indicate increased radioactive isotope uptake.

An animal is injected with a radioactive isotope which travels to inflamed or damaged tissue within the body. The isotope is imaged using a gamma camera, detecting  the decay of the radionuclide, highlighting trouble-areas. While the most common application is bone scintigraphy to detect changes in bone metabolism that may be related to lameness, nuclear scintigraphy can also be used to detect portosystemic shunts, sub-clinical renal failure, hyperthyroidism, and to evaluate mucociliary clearance.

Return to UF Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging.