• There are a number of uses for nuclear energy in medicine.nuclear danger image by dpaint from Fotolia.com
  
  Nuclear material first gained widespread use in a medical context in the 1950s. Nuclear medicine is generally diagnostic rather than therapeutic in nature. In most cases, small amounts of radioactive material are injected into the patient's bloodstream and then observed using special cameras. This process, called radiographic imaging, allows doctors to perceive certain biological abnormalities, such as unusual growths or blockages that might go undetected in normal X-rays. However, nuclear medicine can also be used to treat several physical ailments, such as bone pain.
  
  

Oncology

• One of the main uses of nuclear medicine is to localize the presence of cancerous tumors. Radiographic imaging is often used both to detect the initial presence of cancer and to determine whether the cancer has metastasized and spread to other parts of the body. These same scans can also be used to assess the effectiveness of various courses of treatment by seeing whether the cancer's presence has been reduced or whether it has spread to other parts of the body.
  
  

Cardiology

• Because radiographic imaging allows not just still pictures but moving images, it can provide an excellent picture of the heart as it pumps blood, allowing doctors to study the function of the heart's chambers. According to the Imaginis Corporation, by seeing the heart move, physicians can detect areas that have been damaged by a heart attack or areas that are receiving insufficient blood supply due to a blockage.
  
  

Neurology

• By giving doctors a comprehensive map of the brain's geography, radiographic imaging has a number of uses in neurology, including the detection of damage caused by a stroke, the presence of Alzheimer's disease, the onset of multi-infarct dementia, and the neurological changes wrought by the AIDS virus.
  
  

Organ Functioning

• Besides the heart, nuclear medicine provides an excellent look at the functioning of various other organs. It can detect the presence of ulcers in the stomach, check for abnormal growth in the thyroid and detect the presence of blood clots in the lungs or an injury from smoke inhalation in burn victims. Nuclear medicine can also help look for diseases in the blood stream and check for cirrhosis of the liver.
  
  

Bone Scanning

• According to the Molecular Imaging Center, one of the advantages of nuclear medicine over traditional imaging is that it detects changes in biology rather simple changes in anatomy. While X-rays are useful in detecting large fractures or other exterior abnormalities, only radiographic bone scans can detect certain kinds of internal changes derived from tumors, diseases such as arthritis, and minuscule fractures.
  
  

Therapeutic Uses

• In addition to its diagnostic uses, nuclear medicine also has several therapeutic uses. Besides functioning as a palliative, concentrated doses of radiation can also be deployed as a treatment for certain types of clogged blood vessels. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency, doses of radiation can be useful in relieving pain in certain parts of the body, such as bones that have developed cancerous tumors.