Scintigraphy or Nuclear Scintigraphy is commonly referred to as a "bone scan". When the cause of pain or lameness cannot be readily identified scintigraphy is used to aid their discovery. A radioactive dye is injected into the vein of the horse and its uptake measured and compared. The radioactive dye will become concentrated in areas of inflammation. The horse is scanned using a gamma camera that is sensitive to the radioactivity of the dye. The image is fed through to a computer that displays the image of the uptake. Areas where the uptake is increased are easily visible (termed "hotspots") and are a likely source of pain.

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