Historic images in nuclear medicine: 1976: the first issue of clinical nuclear medicine and the first human FDG study.

In 1976, 2 major molecular imaging events coincidentally took place: Clinical Nuclear Medicine was first published in June, and in August researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania created the first images in humans with F-FDG. FDG was initially developed as part of an evolution set in motion by fundamental research studies with positron-emitting tracers in the 1950s by Michel Ter-Pegossian and coworkers at the Washington University. Today, Clinical Nuclear Medicine is a valued scientific contributor to the molecular imaging community, and FDG PET is considered the backbone of this evolving and exciting discipline.