ABSTRACT
Disease processes may be hidden by overlying body organs or may be too small or the wrong scale for visualization by human senses. Accurate diagnoses may therefore be achieved through imaging modalities. Accurate knowledge of the patient’s disease location and status can be obtained with imaging technology. Invasive imaging by definition carries risks of a surgical intervention such as trauma and bleeding, but non-invasive imaging can avoid the risks of invasive diagnostic procedures. Clinical skills and diagnostic interpretation are a most important element in healthcare, because on them depends the surgeon’s ability to operate. In addition to standard invasive surgical methods of diagnostic imaging which can offer tissues for analysis, there are five classes of non-invasive methodologies: X-ray and radionuclide-based; magnetic scans; ionizing modalities, sonographic-based modalities and infrared modalities. Multiple imaging modalities can be used concurrently, as the overlapping information may offer an increased sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy.
