Bone scintiscanning updated.

Use of modern materials and methods has given bone scintiscanning a larger role in clinical medicine, The safety and ready availability of newer agents have led to its greater use in investigating both benign and malignant disease of bone and joint. Present evidence suggests that abnormal accumulation of 99mTc-polyphosphate and its analogues results from ionic deposition at crystal surfaces in immature bone, this process being facilitated by an increase in bone vascularity. There is, also, a component of matrix localization. These factors are in keeping with the concept that abnormal scintiscan sites represent areas of increased osteoblastic activity, although this may be an oversimplification. Increasing evidence shows that the bone scintiscan is more sensitive than conventional radiography in detecting focal disease of bone, and its ability to reflect the immediate status of bone further complements radiographic findings. The main limitation of this method relates to nonspecificity of the results obtained.