A Personal History of Nuclear Medicine

This book outlines the history of the development of nuclear medicine and describes the hurdles it has had to face. Up to the present day, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has been primarily surgical. When a mass or an enlarged lymph node is detected, immediate attempts are made to remove it or obtain a histological diagnosis by biopsy. Today, characterization of molecular processes in cancerous lesions by PET can help to determine whether therapy should be aggressive or postponed. The most important reason for the rapid acceptance of PET imaging is its value in the care of patients with suspected or known cancer, for establishing the diagnosis, planning and monitoring therapy, and in detecting early recurrence. Written for nuclear medicine professionals, non-nuclear medicine physicians and the public, this book chronicles the development of nuclear medicine together with its basic philosophy in the past, present and future.

Describes how nuclear medicine, the first medical specialty to use computers in the everyday practice of medicine, has contributed to a new definition of disease Outlines a personal history of the development of nuclear medicine over the past 50 years and describes the hurdles this field had to face in becoming a major part of medical practice

Autorentext
A pioneer in nuclear medicine and past president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Professor Henry N. Wagner Jr., MD has spent nearly five decades helping to define and promote the specialty. His groundbreaking work in the applications of nuclear medicine to pulmonary and coronary artery disease and his studies of brain chemistry with radio-labelled tracers have led to significant advances in these fields. Wagner is the director of the Division of Radiation Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he has worked since 1958. He is a professor emeritus of radiology and radiological sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Hygiene and Public Health. A prolific researcher and writer, Wagner is author or co-author of more than 800 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, books and chapters. He is a member of several editorial boards and many medical and radiological societies, and an honorary member of the British Institute of Radiology (2000).

Klappentext

In A Personal History of Nuclear Medicine , Dr. Henry N. Wagner, Jr. outlines his significant contribution to the field of nuclear medicine over the past half-century, while also discussing the hurdles that the field faced in becoming a major component of modern medical practice. Further, the author explores challenges within the academic and medical establishments, which have often been known for resisting change

Written for nuclear medicine professionals and non-nuclear medicine professionals alike, A Personal History of Nuclear Medicine chronicles, from the point of view of a notable pioneer in the field, the challenges and problems faced during the development of nuclear medicine and its basic philosophy over the past half century, plus its further development within medicine as it moves into the future.

Dr. Henry N. Wagner, Jr. is an international authority on nuclear medicine. His pioneering work in imaging brain neuroreceptors paved the way for groundbreaking research in addiction and drug design, and increased understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the brain. During his 56-year association with The Johns Hopkins University, he has trained more than 500 radiologists, internists, physicians, and scientists, eight of whom have held, as he has, the position of President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. In 1985 he was awarded the Georg Von Hevesy Award and in 1993 Dr. Wagner was awarded the first Annual Society of Nuclear Medicine President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to nuclear medicine.

Inhalt
Survival of the Luckiest.- So You Want To Be a Doctor.- First Taste of Research.- Medical School and House Staff Days.- The National Institutes of Health.- A New Medical Specialty.- The Early Days.- The Thyroid Paves the Way.- The Breakthrough to Lung Scanning.- Computers in Nuclear Medicine.- From the Lungs to the Heart.- Growth Out of Control.- Molecular Communication.- The Fight Against Infectious Disease.- A New Approach to Disease.- The Genetic Revolution.