technetium
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tech·ne·tium

noun \tek-ˈnē-sh(ē-)əm\

Definition of TECHNETIUM

: a radioactive metallic element obtained especially from nuclear fuel as a product of uranium fission and used as a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical

Origin of TECHNETIUM

New Latin, from Greek technētos artificial, from technasthai to devise by art, from technē
First Known Use: circa 1946

Rhymes with TECHNETIUM

tech·ne·tium

noun \tek-ˈnē-sh(ē-)əm\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of TECHNETIUM

: a metallic element that is obtained by bombarding molybdenum with deuterons or neutrons and in the fission of uranium and that is used in medicine in the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals—symbol Tc; see pertechnetate; element table

technetium

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Tc, atomic number 43. All its isotopes are radioactive (see radioactivity); some occur in trace amounts in nature as nuclear fission products of uranium. Its isotope technetium-97 was the first element artificially produced (1937; see cyclotron). Technetium-99, a fission product of nuclear reactors that emits gamma rays, is the most-used tracer isotope in nuclear medicine. Technetium resembles platinum in appearance and manganese and rhenium in chemical behaviour. It is also used as a metallurgical tracer and in corrosion-resistant products.

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