NMTCB Anatomy & Physiology for Nuclear Medicine 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which coronary artery supplies the lateral wall of the left ventricle and is most commonly assessed in myocardial perfusion imaging?
- Right coronary artery (RCA)
- Left anterior descending (LAD)
- Left circumflex artery (LCx) (Correct answer)
- Posterior descending artery (PDA)
Correct answer: Left circumflex artery (LCx)
The left circumflex artery (LCx) supplies the lateral wall of the left ventricle, and perfusion defects in this territory appear on the lateral wall in myocardial perfusion studies.
Question 2: In a thyroid uptake study, which anatomical structure must be identified to ensure the probe is correctly positioned over the thyroid?
- Hyoid bone
- Thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple) (Correct answer)
- Sternal notch
- Cricoid cartilage
Correct answer: Thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple)
The thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple) is used as the key anatomical landmark to center the uptake probe over the thyroid gland.
Question 3: During a renal scan, tracer is seen accumulating in the renal pelvis with delayed drainage. Which anatomical structure is the likely site of obstruction?
- Renal cortex
- Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) (Correct answer)
- Bladder trigone
- Renal medulla
Correct answer: Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ)
Obstruction at the ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) prevents drainage from the renal pelvis, causing tracer retention seen on MAG3 or DTPA renal scans.
Question 4: Which lung lobe is located in the right lower zone and is supplied by the right lower lobe bronchus, commonly assessed in V/Q scans?
- Right middle lobe
- Right upper lobe
- Right lower lobe (Correct answer)
- Lingula
Correct answer: Right lower lobe
The right lower lobe is the largest lobe of the right lung and is commonly implicated in pulmonary emboli detected by V/Q scanning.
Question 5: In hepatobiliary imaging, which sphincter controls bile flow from the common bile duct into the duodenum?
- Sphincter of Oddi (Correct answer)
- Ileocecal valve
- Pyloric sphincter
- Cardiac sphincter
Correct answer: Sphincter of Oddi
The sphincter of Oddi regulates bile and pancreatic juice flow into the duodenum; dysfunction causes impaired biliary drainage seen on HIDA scans.
Question 6: In a bone scan, which anatomical region shows the highest normal physiologic uptake due to active red bone marrow in adults?
- Long bone diaphyses
- Axial skeleton (spine, pelvis, sternum) (Correct answer)
- Distal extremities
- Cranial vault
Correct answer: Axial skeleton (spine, pelvis, sternum)
The axial skeleton contains the most active hematopoietic (red) marrow in adults, resulting in the highest normal bone scan uptake in the spine, pelvis, and sternum.
Question 7: Which segment of the left ventricle corresponds to the apex and is primarily supplied by the left anterior descending (LAD) artery?
- Basal inferior wall
- Apical region (Correct answer)
- Basal lateral wall
- Mid-inferior wall
Correct answer: Apical region
The apical region of the left ventricle is the territory of the LAD artery; apical perfusion defects on MPI indicate LAD disease.
NMTCB Anatomy & Physiology for Nuclear Medicine 1
Which coronary artery supplies the lateral wall of the left ventricle and is most commonly assessed in myocardial perfusion imaging?