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Summary
Computed tomography (CT) is a type of imaging. It uses special x-ray equipment to make cross-sectional pictures of your body.
Doctors use CT scans to look for:
- Fractures (broken bones)
- Cancers
- Blood clots
- Signs of heart disease
- Internal bleeding
During a CT scan, you lie still on a table. The table slowly passes through the center of a large X-ray machine. The test is painless. During some tests you receive a contrast dye, which makes parts of your body show up better in the image.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Full-Body CT Scans: What You Need to Know (Food and Drug Administration)
- What Are the Radiation Risks from CT? (Food and Drug Administration)
- Whole-Body CT Screening -- Should I or Shouldn't I Get One? (Food and Drug Administration)
Related Issues
- Contrast Materials (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- How to Read Your Radiology Report (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Abdominal and Pelvic CT (Computed Tomography) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Body CT (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Computed Tomography (CT) -- Sinuses (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- CT Angiography (CTA) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- CT Enterography (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- CT Perfusion of the Head (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Head CT (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Heart Tests (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
- Myelography (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
- SPECT (Single-Photon Emission Computerized Tomography) Scan (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Spine CT (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Tests for Lung Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
- Urography (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
- Virtual Colonoscopy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
Videos and Tutorials
- Getting a CAT Scan (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Tomography, X-Ray Computed (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: The nodule-pleura relationship affects pneumothorax in CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy:...
- Article: Clinic, CT radiomics, and deep learning combined model for the prediction of...
- Article: Predicting response to immunotherapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma via a...
- CT Scans -- see more articles
Reference Desk
- RadiologyInfo: Glossary of Terms (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Find an Expert
- American College of Radiology Accredited Facility Search (American College of Radiology)
- Food and Drug Administration
- RadiologyInfo (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Children
- Keeping Kids Still during Exams (American Society of Radiologic Technologists) - PDF - In English and Spanish
- Pediatric CT (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Women
- Radiation Exposure and Pregnancy (Health Physics Society) - PDF
Patient Handouts
- Abdominal CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Chest CT (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- CT angiography - abdomen and pelvis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- CT angiography - arms and legs (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- CT angiography - chest (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- CT angiography - head and neck (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Head CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Heart CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Lumbar Spine CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Lumbosacral spine CT (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Pelvic CT scan (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish