preview

How Has Nuclear Medicine Propagated Science And Society?

Decent Essays
Open Document
How has nuclear medicine innovated science and society? Within the last century, science faced several discoveries that caused the scientific community and society to change one another. When evaluating the scientific discoveries during the twentieth century, the decisive advancements took place in the study of nuclear physics. Affecting both science and society inquires formed around medical uses for nuclear materials. Advanced research in nuclear science with radioisotopes allowed doctors to treat tumors efficiently to transform healthcare in society. The conclusion of the Second World War plunged the world into the Atomic Era. The birth of the Atomic Era caused science and society to question the medical use of nuclear physics.…show more content…
The early studies in nuclear medicine provided a new outlook to scientists on ways for treating fatal illnesses such as cancer. Physicist Wilhelm Roentgen acknowledged, during his experiments, that he had stumbled upon the discovery, which would influence medical practices that benefited society. Roentgen’s experiments at the end of the nineteenth century laid the foundations for nuclear medicine. In 1895 while working with electricity and the effects it had on certain gasses in cathode tubes, Roentgen began to notice several anomalies. Roentgen decided to use a piece of cardboard covered with barium platinocyanide and a photographic screen to illuminate his newly found rays. Perplexed by his discovery, the physicist used the screen to conclude that the rays would pass through many objects. His development influenced the study of nuclear science in many ways; now known as the X-Ray. The X-Ray offered new techniques for observing broken bones and other medical phenomena in the early twentieth century.
Roentgen’s X-Ray discovery offered doctors and medical practitioners with a new method for identifying defects in the body. Instead of cutting into an individual’s body to find cancerous tumors, Roentgen’s X-Rays enabled doctors with an effective way of viewing internal organs, tumors, and broken bones. Roentgen’s discovery helped society by preventing an individual from
Get Access
Related
Get Access