Term: technetium Tc 99m-sulfur colloid

Pronunciation: (tek-NEE-shee-um ... SUL-fur KAH-loyd)

Description:

A substance being studied as a way to find cancer in the body. It is also used to find sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer. It contains a radioactive substance called technetium linked to a substance called sulfur colloid. Sulfer colloid is taken up by special cells in lymph tissue, and in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow after it is injected. A machine or probe that detects radioactivity is used to find where the technetium Tc 99m-sulfur colloid is in the body. Also called Tc 99m sulfur colloid and Tc-99m SC.