For centuries, doctors longed to see inside the human body. They wanted to watch the inner workings of complicated organs, like the heart or brain, without the risks that come with incisions.
When Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895, doctors for the first time could see the skeleton within the living, rather than examining that of the dead. But they still couldn't see soft tissue and blood vessels. And they couldn't see the activity of the heart or brain without performing surgery.
That's all changed in the last 30 years. New devices that create clear images of our organs and muscle tissue have revolutionized the world of imaging. Doctors and radiologists can now follow chemicals into the brain and see how they're absorbed, which helps the doctors better understand how the brain works.
When we go to the hospital for such diagnostic imaging, we're often too preoccupied to ask many questions about the type of image being taken. And we may not know any more about the imaging machines than their acronyms: MRI, CT and PET.
Understanding how these machines work could help quell fears and allow patients to make more informed medical decisions.