Korean J Nucl Med.  2004 Feb;38(1):1-20.

Normal Variants and Artifacts in Bone Scan: Potential for Errors in Interpretation

• Sohn MH

Abstract

Bone scan is one of the most frequently performed studies in nuclear medicine. In bone scan, the amount of radioisotope taken up by lesion depends primarily on the local rate of bone turnover rather than on the bone mass. Bone scan is extremely sensitive for detecting bony abnormalities. However, abnormalities that appear on bone scan may not always represent disease. The normal scan appearances may be affected not only by skeletal physiology and anatomy but also by a variety of technical factors which can influence image quality. Many normal variants and artifacts may appear on bone scan. They could simulate a pathologic process and could mislead into the wrong diagnostic interpretation. Therefore, their recognition is necessary to avoid misdiagnosis. A nuclear medicine physician should be aware of variable appearance of the normal variants and artifacts on bone scan. In this article, a variety of normal variants and artifacts mimicking real pathologic lesion in bone scan interpretation are discussed and illustrated.

Keyword

Tc-99m MDP; bone scan; normal variant; artifact

MeSH Terms

Artifacts*
Diagnostic Errors
Nuclear Medicine
Physiology
Technetium Tc 99m Medronate
Technetium Tc 99m Medronate