PET (positron emission tomography) scan

Definition

A PET scan is a type of imaging test that helps reveal how your tissues and organs are functioning by using a radioactive drug to show activity.

Analogy

Imagine you're trying to understand how people move around at a music festival. A drone flying overhead taking pictures would give you some idea, but what if you could track individual people? That's what PET scans do - they let us see not just structures but also activity levels across different areas of your body/brain.

Related terms

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): An imaging technique used to visualize internal structures of the body in detail. It’s like having high-resolution photos of the festival grounds.

CT (Computed Tomography) scan: This is another imaging method that uses x-rays to create pictures of cross-sections of the body. It's like having a 3D map of the festival.

Radiotracer: This is the radioactive drug used in PET scans to highlight areas of activity. It's like giving certain people at the music festival glow sticks so you can track them.