FDG
Medical abbreviation · Medical Imaging
| Stands for | Fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
FDG stands for Fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18), a medical imaging abbreviation.
Radioactive glucose analog labeled with fluorine-18 and the most widely used PET tracer. Cells take it up like glucose but cannot metabolize it further, so it accumulates where glucose use is high: many cancers, infection and inflammation, the brain and working muscle.
Example: FDG-avid thyroid incidentaloma on staging PET; ultrasound recommended.
Usage notes
Fluorine-18 has a half-life of about 110 minutes, so FDG is made in cyclotrons and delivered daily to imaging centers. High blood sugar competes with the tracer and degrades images, which is why patients fast. Some slow-growing cancers, including many prostate cancers and low-grade lymphomas, take up little FDG.
Related abbreviations
More medical imaging abbreviations
- DBT – Digital breast tomosynthesis
- DEXA – Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
- DICOM – Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
- DSA – Digital subtraction angiography
- DWI – Diffusion-weighted imaging
- DXA – Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
- FLAIR – Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery
- Fluoro – Fluoroscopy
- fMRI – Functional magnetic resonance imaging
- GBCA – Gadolinium-based contrast agent
- HRCT – High-resolution computed tomography
- HSG – Hysterosalpingogram
See all 58 medical imaging abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.