Radionuclide imaging of parathyroid tumors: historical perspectives and newer techniques.

The increasing use of automated blood chemistry screens for serum calcium levels along with improved methods in measuring parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels have made the diagnosis of parathyroid disease a common clinical problem. Parathyroid adenomas account for the majority of primary hyperparathyroidism with diffuse hyperplasia and parathyroid carcinoma occurring less frequently. Early scintigraphic techniques to identify enlarged parathyroids used selenomethionine-75 which was considered to be incorporated into PTH.