Article
Article
Radioactive tracer
Article By:
Brownell, Gordon L. Physics Research Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Wagner, Henry N., Jr. Divisions of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.568800
A radioactive isotope which, when injected into a chemically similar substance or artificially attached to a biological or physical system, can be traced by radiation detection devices. Many problems in biology, medicine, and industrial engineering not amenable to other approaches can be solved by the use of these tracers. See also: Radioactivity; Radioactivity and radiation applications; Radioisotope; Radioisotope (biology)
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