Specialized Radiology: What is a Radiologist?
A radiologist is a medical doctor with additional specialty training in the interpretation of diagnostic medical images. These include tests performed using X-ray, Ultrasound, CT, MRI, Mammography, and Nuclear Medicine. Because a radiologist must be able to recognize, understand, and diagnose a wide range of diseases and conditions from these tests, they must undergo specialized training after college which includes medical school, a clinical internship, a radiology residency, and usually a fellowship in a sub-specialty of radiology. In addition, a radiologist is also trained to perform medical procedures such as biopsies using imaging in ways that are less invasive than surgery. Interventional radiologists receive additional training to treat certain disease conditions using more specialized procedures with imaging guidance.