Understanding Your CT Scan Results: A Patient's Guide

Computerized tomography (CT) scans are complex visual renderings that give a doctor a better look into the more complex parts of your body than can an X-ray. This is because a CT scan can represent many different types of body tissue, such as bone, muscle, organs and fatty tissue. Far more rays are involved in a CT scan, and the scan readings can show strange growths or other irregularities in your body.

Things You'll Need

• CT scan

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Instructions

• 1

  Review the CT scan. Initially, examine it for anything that looks obviously out of the ordinary. The easiest way to do this is by looking for lighter areas, which could indicate a tumor or mineral deposit. If you have had metal plates or other implants of a high density, note those first, since they will appear bright on the scan.

• 2

  Search for gray areas that seem out of place. This could represent some sort of trauma or internal bleeding, which may be threatening your health.

• 3

  Ask your doctor for assistance interpreting a brain CT scan for brain irregularities. Reading a CT scan of the lungs or abdomen is a much easier affair because the potential findings are simplistic. Brain CT scans, however, could reveal a major problem that is barely noticeable.

• 4

  Request a second CT scan if you find something concerning or unexplainable, and compare it beside the first one. CT scanners occasionally have hiccups where white or gray areas may appear where nothing in the body corresponds to it. Get confirmation before assuming that your first CT scan is conclusive.