Neuroradiology: past, present, future

Article Abstract:

Neurosurgery is surgery involving the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord. Reports of successful removal of tumors in the brain and spinal canal began to appear in the literature in 1879. Unfortunately, there were many unsuccessful attempts. Since these tumors could not be visualized by sophisticated imagery equipment, they were often located by the clinical symptoms that were present. X-ray techniques did not become available until the end of 1895, but were immediately accepted and welcomed by neurosurgeons. More sophisticated radiographic (X-ray) techniques, such as pneumoencephalography and ventriculography, which involve the injection of air into the fluid-filled spaces of the brain, were developed in the 1930s. Myelography, which is an X-ray of the spinal cord using a contrast medium injected into the spinal canal, was probably invented by accident during a treatment with iodized oil for sciatica. Cerebral angiography, which allows viewing of the blood vessels in the brain, was developed in Portugal in the early 1930s, but usage did not become widespread until the next decade. The first international conference which addressed cranial radiology was held in 1939; the next one was held 10 years later. Neuroradiology is now an established science and profession, with the development of ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT scan), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) leading the way to more advanced levels of knowledge and surgical expertise. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Neurology, Radiology, Medical, Radiology

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Making darkness visible: the discovery of x-ray and its introduction into dentistry

Article Abstract:

Physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays in 1895 and dentist C. Edmund Kells applied this imaging technique to dentistry one year later. Roentgen inadvertently discovered x-rays while testing the ability of cathode rays to penetrate a vacuum tube. When he applied electric current to the tube, he noted that crystals several feet away began to glow. This mysterious form of energy he called x-rays also penetrated solid objects including the human body. Announcement of his historic discovery brought Roentgen fame and honor and stimulated the interest of a forward-thinking American dentist named Kells. Kells acquired x-ray equipment, devised a method to take dental images, and became the first American to take dental x-rays of living subjects. He was first to exhibit a dental x-ray machine at a dental meeting. Kell's repeated radiation exposure during x-ray imaging eventually caused the hand cancer that led to his death.

Cover Story, Appreciation, Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad, Kells, C. Edmund

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Roentgen rembered

Article Abstract:

A special congress will be held in Birmingham to mark the impact of the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. X-rays are extensively used in medical diagnosis and also in industry. Initially they offered very little radiation protection and in 1924 they were included in the Workman's Compensation Act 1906. The British X-ray and Radiation Protection Committee produced recommendations which were adopted in 1928. The International Recommednations fo X-ray and Radium Protection were the forerunner of the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

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