18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET, the Brain, and Other Organs: From the First Human Studies (1976) to 2026.

The introduction of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to medicine has been revolutionary during the past 5 decades, and its impact rivals that of other technical advances that have been made in medicine during the past century. Therefore, it is timely to celebrate the impact of this unique tracer and its critical role in so many domains of medicine, including the assessment and management of many serious diseases and disorders in the brain but also the entire body. FDG has lived up to the title molecule of the century. With the invention of total body PET instruments, the future looks just as promising.