CT scans

A CT scan or "cat scan" is used to see what is inside soft tissues located in the body. CT scans are used mainly in the cranial cavity due to the large amount of soft tissue located in within the skull. They are used to take pictures of the inner organs beneath the bone and connective tissues. A machine like this would be most commonly used to detect a problem within the cerebrum, cerebellum, or spinal cord located in the cranial cavity. These are vital organs to the body's major functions so it is imperative that you can detect malfunctions without having to risk damaging them in an unnecessary surgery. A CT scan is what found the tennis ball-size tumor in my cousin's head and allowed doctors to determine the location of the tumor within the brain before entering the skull in surgery. They were able to asses the danger of the surgery before hand because they knew it was close to the occipital lobe of the brain where the eyes function. It is machines like these that make our hospitals more efficient and safer for patients.