title: [Positron emission tomography: a new modality in Brazilian nuclear medicine].
abstract: In nuclear medicine, radioactive substances are used to diagnose and treat disease. This medical specialty, that can provide information about the human body's physiologic and metabolic processes, has become a key diagnostic tool for the early detection of many different disorders, including various types of cancer. The present article describes the historical milestones in nuclear medicine; the basic physical principles underlying positron emission tomography (PET), which is an imaging method used to map the distribution of radiopharmaceuticals in the body for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, and the current status of this modality in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Física, Brazil. cecilcr@if.usp.br
authors.forename: Cecil Chow
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Robilotta
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D006801:Humans; D009683:Nuclear Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography