gadolinium
Meaning of gadolinium: Because gadolinium can pose risks for people with significantly reduced kidney function, its use during imaging is weighed carefully in that group.
Definition of gadolinium
Gadolinium is a rare earth metal used, in a modified chemically bound form, as a contrast agent during magnetic resonance imaging. Contrast agents of this kind alter the magnetic behavior of nearby tissue, making certain structures, particularly areas of abnormal blood vessel activity or inflammation, appear more clearly on the resulting images.
Gadolinium is not injected in its free elemental form, since the metal itself is toxic to the body, but is instead bound tightly to a carrier molecule called a chelate, forming a compound designed to be eliminated from the body largely unchanged, primarily through the kidneys.
Because gadolinium based contrast agents are cleared through the kidneys, their use requires particular consideration in people with significantly reduced kidney function, since impaired clearance has been linked to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, a rare but serious condition affecting the skin and other tissues.
Used in a sentence
Gadolinium contrast was administered intravenously prior to the MRI to better characterize the lesion.
Good to know
Gadolinium contrast is administered as a chelated compound rather than as the free metal, since the chelation is what allows the gadolinium to be used safely and cleared from the body.