The Radioactive Phosphorus (P32) Uptake Test in Ophthalmology

Abstract

During the past two decades there has evolved a new phase of exploration in medical science dealing with the application of artificial radioactive isotopes in medical research. Recent studies by Thomas and associates,* Town,† Dunphy and associates,‡ Eisenberg and associates,§ and Kennedy and associates⁹ indicate the usefulness of radioactive phosphorus in the diagnosis of intraocular neoplasms. The present study was undertaken in order to gain more experience in the use of P³² in a variety of ocular pathologic conditions and to enlarge upon the original series of cases in this laboratory, to develop a method which would differentiate between inflammation and neoplasm, and to apply this technique, if possible, to the ocular adnexa. Artificial radioactivity was discovered by Curie and Joliot¹⁰ in 1934, but it was not until 1936, when Lawrence ∥ and his associates developed the cyclotron, that the supply of artificially produced radioisotopes became sufficiently