Alasbimn Journal, Year 5, Nº 19, January 2003

Detection of Femoral Artery Calcification by Bone Scintigraphy

Hatice Uslu, M.D., Erhan Varoglu, M.D., Mustafa Yildirim, M.D., Pinar Polat, M.D.

Ataturk Universty,
Medical Faculty,
Department of Nuclear Medicine And Radiology
Yakutiye, Erzurum, Turkey.

Correspondence:

Hatice Uslu, M.D.,
Ataturk Universty
Medical Faculty,
Department of Nuclear Medicine,

Yakutiye, Erzurum, Turkey.

Tel: 00 90 442 236 09 00
Fax: 00 90 442 236 09 86

E-mail: uslusinav@hotmail.com

Scintigraphy with technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (MDP) was performed in a 76-year-old male with prostatic cancer. Tc-99m MDP bone scintigraphy showed a linear markedly increased accumulation of radioactivity in both femoral arteries. Radiopharmaceutical uptake in femoral arteries was confirmed with a colour Doppler ultrasonography as femoral artery calcification. This increased uptake of Tc-99m MDP in the patient is strongly related to the calcium deposition. Tc-99m MDP scintigraphy depicts a wide spectrum of nonosseous disorders. Abnormal soft tissue uptake of Tc-99m MDP demostrates hormonal, neoplastic, inflammatory, ischemic, traumatic, excretory and artifactural entities. Hormonal disturbances in calcium metabolism, particularly in hyperparathyroidism, can lead to metastatic calcification and can be visualized with Tc-99m MDP scintigraphy. Mechanisms leading to increased extraosseous Tc-99m MDP uptake include extracellular fluid expansion, enhanced regional vascularity and permeability, and the presence of other metallic ions (eg, iron and magnesium) are also important.

Key Words: Extraosseous Calcification, Bone Scintigraphy

Fig. 1. Bone scintigraphy with linear uptake of Tc99m-MDP medial to each femur demostrates a femoral artery calcification in anterior femoral scan.


Fig. 2. Symmetric linear uptake of Tc99m-MDP medial to each femur is representative of this phenomenon in whole body bone scan.


Fig. 3. Calcification of the femoral vessels of the patient is confirmed on a colour doppler ultrasonography.

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