What Does CT Scan Mean?

Examination of lots of internal organs has actually enhanced considerably in the last decade with the advent of computerized scanning devices. The 3 brand-new types of scanning most frequently offered are computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasonography.

The MRI and CT techniques are comparable in that they both offer an image of the within of the body, but they use different approaches for producing their pictures: CT utilizes a really thin x-ray beam, and CT Scan MRI utilizes a magnetic field. Both CT and MRI are safe, pain-free treatments that are often done on an outpatient basis.

A CT scan is lot of times as sensitive as an ordinary x-ray. It is produced by an x-ray beam that goes through your body. The CT devices gets and analyzes the x-ray beam that emerges on the other side. The resulting photo can expose soft tissue structures not recognizable on a standard x-ray. You will be asked to lie flat on a movable table; then the table is assisted into the center of the CT scanner. This instrument looks like a huge doughnut. While you remain still, x-rays in a complete circle are beamed through sections of your body and are gotten by detectors. This info is fed into a computer which collects the information and transforms it into a video or photographic image which your radiologist can then analyze. A "dye" (contrast medium) is often injected through a vein to enhance the contrast of the image. (This liquid contains iodine, so before the test starts you will be asked if you dislike iodine.).

An MRI device also can produce a photo of the within your body. MRI utilizes magnetism and radio waves rather than x-rays or contrast dyes to produce its image. This picture is clearer than ordinary x-rays. Also, it does not utilize ionizing radiation as do standard x-rays and CT scans.

MRI is based on magnetic properties in the interior (nucleus) of all atoms, including those in living tissue. When radio waves are directed to a particular part of your body, they cause the nuclei of atoms there to emit energy. This energy is spotted, and a computer system equates the emerging pattern of magnetic energy into an image that your radiologist can interpret.