Quantitative renal imaging and its place in urological investigation

Recent developments in renal nuclear medicine enable accurate quantification of useful physiological parameters. These include renal perfusion, total and relative renal function, tracer transit times, and residual urine volume. The intravenous pyelogram (IVP) demonstrates renal excretion and, although both the IVP and renal ultrasound scanning provide excellent structural information, neither is able to assess renal function adequately. In renal medicine, the prime concern is often not structure but function, and quantitative renography provides this essential information.