What are the pros and cons of nuclear medicine?

Pro:study metabolism: Pros: it is one of the few types of studies that gives information about function or metabolism, where studies like ct and MRI and most ultrasounds are more geared to look at anatomy ( structure). Sometimes, combining both types of imaging ( fuse a ct with nuclear med) can be very helpful. Con: it uses trace amounts of radioactive materials, therefore small amounts of radiation.

Pro: functional: Nuclear medicine is functional imaging of organs of body with radio tracers. Pros: early detection of myocardial infarction, differentiation of urinary obstruction from stasis, early detection of bone infection, gall bladder disease with normal anatomic studies, pet detecting very small areas of metastatic disease. Cons: uses small doses of ionizing radiation.