Interventional radiology.

Abstract

The traditional role of Radiologists in the first half of this century was virtually solely one of diagnosis, a role which still forms the basis of modern Radiological practice. The advent of Interventional Radiological techniques has brought Radiologists into the therapeutic field and has advanced their ability for diagnosis and for the acquisition of physiological data. Interventional Radiology is already a large field and is rapidly expanding, with the encouragement and help of our clinical colleagues. Although intervention in the vascular system started it all off, it is in the urinary and biliary system where most recent advances have been made and it is in these two areas where endoscopic techniques are also vital. The treatment of stone disease in both systems has changed beyond all recognition recently and the following discussion confines itself to the role of the Interventional Radiologist in the Biliary and Renal tract.