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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
A CT scan — also called computerized tomography or just CT — combines a series of X-ray views taken from many different angles to produce cross-sectional images of the bones and soft tissues inside your body.
The resulting images can be compared to a loaf of sliced bread. Your doctor will be able to look at each of these slices individually or perform additional visualization to make 3-D images. CT scan images provide much more information than do plain X-rays.
A CT scan is particularly well suited to quickly examine people who may have internal injuries from car accidents or other types of trauma. A CT scan can also visualize the brain and — with the help of injected contrast material — check for blockages or other problems in your blood vessels.
- Mettler FA. Computed tomography. Essentials of Radiology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/169481595-5/0/1276/7.html?tocnode=49300943&fromURL=7.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-0527-3..50004-4--cesec3_8. Accessed Nov. 6, 2009.
- CT-Body. Radiological Society of North America. http://radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct. Accessed Nov. 6, 2009.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. About your CT scan. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2008.
- Safety: Radiation exposure in X-ray examinations. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safety/index.cfm?pg=sfty_xray. Accessed Nov. 9, 2009.
- Radiation-emitting products: What are the radiation risks from CT? U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/MedicalImaging/MedicalX-Rays/ucm115317.htm. Accessed Nov. 9, 2009.
- Contrast agents. American Society of Radiologic Technologists. https://www.asrt.org/media/pdf/contrast_eng.pdf. Accessed Nov. 9, 2009.
- CT: Abdomen and pelvis. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=abdominct. Accessed Nov. 9m 2009.
- Keeping kids still during exams. American Society of Radiologic Technologists. https://www.asrt.org/content/ThePublic/AboutRadiologicProcedures/KeepingKidsStillDuringExams.aspx. Accessed Nov. 9, 2009.
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