TY - JOUR T1 - <sup>18</sup>F-FDG Imaging: Pitfalls and Artifacts JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology JO - J. Nucl. Med. Technol. SP - 145 LP - 155 VL - 33 IS - 3 AU - Mohei M. Abouzied AU - Elpida S. Crawford AU - Hani Abdel Nabi Y1 - 2005/09/01 UR - http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/33/3/145.abstract N2 - 18F-FDG PET is emerging as a useful tool in the staging and restaging of many malignant neoplasms, such as lymphoma, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma. To accurately interpret 18F-FDG findings one must be familiar with the normal physiologic distribution of the tracer, frequently encountered physiologic variants, and benign pathologic causes of 18F-FDG uptake that can be confused with a malignant neoplasm. The objectives of this article are to (a) describe the mechanism of 18F-FDG uptake, (b) list the patient preparation and pertinent patient history before 18F-FDG imaging, (c) describe the whole-body physiologic distribution of 18F-FDG, (d) list and discuss normal physiologic variants, and (e) list and discuss benign pathologic causes of 18F-FDG uptake. ER -