Medical diagnostic procedures give your physician a look at what's going on inside your body
Much of what goes on inside the body cannot be detected by a physical exam by your physician. To test for certain diseases, to gauge their severity or to prevent them, your doctor may order certain laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures. Using the results, appropriate course of action or treatment can begin.
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to find diseases or injuries of the bone as well as soft tissue structures--ligaments, tendons, muscles and organs, none of which can be viewed in X-rays. MRIs provide "slices" of the area being imaged using a magnetic field and a radio frequency. Because the patient is exposed to the magnetic field, anyone with a pacemaker, cochlear implants, screws, pins or plates used to repair past injuries or clips used to repair brain aneurysms should not have an MRI. It may also be dangerous to be near the MRI machine. For women, it is not advised to have an MRI if you are pregnant.
Colonoscopy
This is one medical diagnostic procedure that makes many people uncomfortable just hearing its name. A colonoscopy is done to view the inside of the rectum and colon. When complaining of pain in the lower abdomen, you doctor may order a colonoscopy to detect ulcers, inflammation or polyps. Men and women over age 50 should undergo regular colonoscopies to detect colon cancer. A long, flexible tube is inserted into the anus and up through the rectum into the colon. There is a camera and a light at the end of the tube. Your doctor may also remove polyps or perform a biopsy during the procedure. A colonoscopy can last from a half hour to an hour. A sedative and mild pain medication is administered to most patients.
Pap Smear
A pap smear, short for Papanicolaou smear, is a gynecological exam administered to women to screen for abnormal cells on the cervix. Abnormal cells can mean the presence of the human papillomavirus, HPV, or cervical cancer. Cells are scraped from the outside and inside of the cervix. The cells are then sent to a lab for examination. For sexually active women, it is recommended that they have a pap smear every one to two years. If the results of a pap smear come back abnormal a follow-up test is needed--either a HPV test or a colposcopy. During a colposcopy, the gynecologist uses a colposcope, a magnifying device to view the cervix and a biopsy is performed, meaning a small sample of tissue is removed for testing.
PSA Test
This test is used to detect high levels of the prostate-antigen in the blood of men. Men normally have low levels of PSA in the blood. A PSA test is performed after a digital rectal exam where the doctor may have felt lumps or abnormal areas on the prostate. Blood is drawn and taken to a medical lab to be analyzed. Because the prostate-antigen is normally found in the blood, this test is not fool-proof. It can show false-positive where the PSA levels are elevated but no cancer is present or false-negative results; the level of PSA is within normal ranges but there is cancer present. Men over 50 should be tested annually. Your family history, race and diet can put you at high risk and your doctor may order the test before age 50.
Tags: doctor order, cancer present, diagnostic procedures, magnetic field, over should
