Discussion on twenty-two hepatobiliary scintigraphs performed with technetium 99m-labelled N-(2,6 dimethylphenylcarbamoylmethyl) iminodiacetic acid (or HIDA-99mTc) at the Val-de-Grace Army Instruction Hospital

Intraveinously injected technetium 99m-labelled N-(2,6 dimethyl-phenylcarbamoylmethyl) iminodiacetic acid, or HIDA-99mTc, is taken up by the hepatocytes and secreted in the bile, a fraction being normally eliminated by the kidneys. Isotopic examination with HIDA-99mTc gives valuable information on the morphology of the liver during the first minutes of the test, thus revealing the presence of parenchyma disease. In all observed cases of secondary hepatic localisations in particular the HIDA-99mTc images overlie those obtained with technetium colloids. By the examination it is also possible: - to establish the existence or otherwise of a functional vesicle, - to follow the path of the radiotracer along the bile duct. In short, HIDA-99mTc hepatobiliary scintigraphy is particularly useful for the study of hepatocyte uptake and bile elimination since it allows a continuous quantitative study of the liver-bile function under given physiological conditions