Ultrasounds vs. X-rays in Medical Imaging

Ultrasounds vs. X-rays

• Ultrasounds were first used on humans in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

• Ultrasounds use sound waves, not ionizing radiation, and produce "real-time images" like a video.

• Ultrasounds are suitable for evaluating fetal development, internal organs, blood vessels, and soft tissues.

• X-rays were first used on humans in 1896.

• X-rays use ionizing radiation, but the amount of radiation used is very small and the benefits greatly outweigh the risk of harm.

• X-rays produce "shadow-like" images of bones and other structures.

• X-rays are suitable for imaging hard tissues such as bones and air-filled structures.

Roles in Healthcare

• Nurse Manager: oversees all the care on a particular unit and supports the nurse taking care of the patient.
• Staff Educator: serves as an educational resource to staff, providing the latest information about medication, treatments, or technology.
• Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS): provides teaching and support to patients in their particular area of knowledge with a master's degree in a specialty.
• Nurse Practitioner (NP): diagnoses and treats illnesses in their specialty, can prescribe medications, and works under the supervision of a physician.

Additional Care Team Members

• Physician: provides medical care, may be the patient's own medical doctor, or may have a hospitalist, a surgeon, or a specialist manage hospital care.
• Physician Assistant (PA): provides diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive healthcare services under the supervision of physicians.
• Hospitalist: specializes in caring for hospitalized patients, coordinates and consults with other doctors, and keeps the patient and their family informed.
• Intern/Resident: medical school graduate doctors gaining supervised practical or specialized experience in a hospital.

Mental Illness

• Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior.
• Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors.

Symptoms of Mental Illness

• Symptoms of mental illness can vary depending on the disorder, circumstances, and other factors.
• Examples of signs and symptoms include:
  • Feeling sad or down
  • Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate
  • Excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt
  • Extreme mood changes of highs and lows
  • Withdrawal from friends and activities
  • Significant tiredness, low energy, or problems sleeping
  • Detachment from reality (delusions), paranoia, or hallucinations
  • Inability to cope with daily problems or stress
  • Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people
  • Problems with alcohol or drug use
  • Major changes in eating habits
  • Sex drive changes
  • Excessive anger, hostility, or violence
  • Suicidal thinking
• Sometimes symptoms of a mental health disorder appear as physical problems, such as stomach pain, back pain, headaches, or other unexplained aches and pains.

Causes of Mental Illness

• Mental illnesses are thought to be caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors.
• Factors include:
  • Inherited traits: mental illness is more common in people whose blood relatives also have a mental illness
  • Environmental exposures before birth: exposure to environmental stressors, inflammatory conditions, toxins, alcohol, or drugs while in the womb
  • Brain chemistry: impaired neural networks and neurotransmitters leading to depression and other emotional disorders

Nervous System

• The nervous system is a complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body.
• The nervous system detects environmental changes that impact the body and works in tandem with the endocrine system to respond to such events.
• In vertebrates, the nervous system consists of two main parts: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).
• The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord.
• The PNS consists mainly of nerves that connect the CNS to every other part of the body.
• The PNS is divided into two separate subsystems: the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.
• The autonomic nervous system is further subdivided into the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems.
• The sympathetic nervous system is activated in cases of emergencies to mobilize energy, while the parasympathetic nervous system is activated when organisms are in a relaxed state.
• The enteric nervous system functions to control the gastrointestinal system.