A HIDA scan is a medical imaging procedure that checks the function of the liver and gallbladder by injecting a radioactive substance into the body. The scan can diagnose diseases such as gallstones or blocked bile ducts. Bile is produced by the liver and emulsifies fat to make it absorbable. The gallbladder stores bile until it is needed and releases it into the small intestine when the body receives fat through food. The HIDA scan takes 40 minutes to an hour and detects if bile is moving normally through the body or if there are any blockages or other problems.
A HIDA scan is a medical imaging procedure that allows a doctor to check the function of your liver or gallbladder. The scan requires a patient to receive an injection of radioactive material, which the machine can detect during the scan. The test shows whether bile from the liver travels properly to the gallbladder and small intestine and can help diagnose diseases such as gallstones or blocked bile ducts.
In healthy people, the liver produces a substance called bile. Humans absorb food through the gastrointestinal system, but the fats in food cannot move freely through the intestinal wall, unlike water. Therefore, the body needs to produce a substance that emulsifies fat to make it absorbable. Bile performs this function.
The gallbladder is a small pouch attached to the liver. Store bile until needed. When the body receives fat through the ingestion of food, the gallbladder releases bile into the small intestine. Health problems can arise if the liver, gallbladder or ducts that control the movement of bile are affected by a disease.
The Hepatobiliary Iminodiacetic Acid scan is what the HIDA scan is all about. The procedure involves a mobile scanning camera and a scanning table on which the patient lies. Fasting is required for at least two hours before the test.
The patient must have an injection of a radioactive substance immediately before the scan. This radioactive injection leaves the body through urination after a day or two, and the radiation dose is small compared to the daily dose of cosmic radiation, so it poses minimal health risk. The radioactive chemical travels through the body and deposits in the liver cells that produce bile. Then, it moves outward into the small intestine with the bile.
Imaging with the HIDA scan takes 40 minutes to an hour as the radioactivity works its way through the gastrointestinal system. During this time, the patient remains motionless. The doctor then looks at the resulting images to see if the bile is moving normally through the body or if there are any blockages or other problems.
If the gallbladder shows no radioactive traces, it may be inflamed in a condition known as cholecystitis. If the HIDA scan detects radioactivity outside the normal bile duct, there may be organ leakage. Abnormally slow bile movement may indicate blockages in the ducts or that the liver is not producing a healthy amount of bile.
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