INTRAVENOUS ADNIMNSTRATION OF CONTRAST AGENTS AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The concept of contrast is the foundation upon which imaging rests. Contrast is simply the ability to distinguish two objects. In medical imaging, it allows adjacent substances or tissue to be distinguishable and visualized. The ability to distinguish target tissue from the surrounding structures is how anatomy is defined, pathology identified, and diagnoses are made. Radiographs easily define bones against a background of muscle and fat, but identifying early hepatocellular carcinoma from a background of a nodular cirrhotic liver is limited using routine CT imaging.