Increasing the injected volume increases the possibility of an adverse reaction occurring. An injection of a large amount of contrast media usually is accompanied by the use of a lower iodine concentrated agent. The rate or speed of contrast media injections is an important factor associated with physiochemotoxic reactions. Increasing the speed or rate of injection may increase the risk of an adverse reaction occurring. The term that is associated with the thickness of a contrast agent is viscosity.
Viscosity describes the thickness or resistance to flow of a contrast agent.
The thickness of the contrast agent is related to the concentration , the size of the molecules in a specific contrast agent, and the temperature of the contrast agent. The thickness or viscosity effects the rate that the contrast media can be injected. Contrast medias with a higher viscosity values will have to be injected at a slower rate. Heating the contrast media , usually to body temperature, reduces viscosity. The warming device heats the filled syringe to a temperature that is approximate to human body temperature.