A bone scan is a test that can find damage to the bones, find
cancer that has spread to the bones, and watch problems such as
infection and trauma to the bones. A bone scan can often find a
problem days to months earlier than a regular X-ray test. During
a bone scan, a radioactive substance called a tracer is injected
into a vein in your arm. The tracer travels through your
bloodstream and into your bones. Then a special camera takes
pictures of the tracer in your bones. Areas that absorb little
or no amount of tracer appear as dark or "cold" spots. This
could show a lack of blood supply to the bone or certain types
of cancer. Areas of fast bone growth or repair absorb more
tracer and show up as bright or "hot" spots in the pictures. Hot
spots may point to problems such as arthritis, a tumor, a
fracture, or an infection. |By:||Reference Healthwise
Staff||Last Revised: Reference October 1, 2012| |Medical
Review:||Reference Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Reference Myo Min Han, MD - Nuclear Medicine