I have been in the medical field for over 5 years now and I still can’t get the hang of the following scans and what is each one used for. Like, I KNOW what they do but they’re all the same to me. What is an MRI, CT, Ultrasound, X-Ray, etc. etc. and what makes them different for their specific purposes? At work, I see sometimes radiological facilities want Mammograms with an US and the report says the same thing or sometimes insurance companies want an X-Ray to be done before covering an MRI but no sign of broken bone. I’m just curious lol
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MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Uses the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance. You apply a very strong magnetic field to the body and different molecules react differently, allowing a computer to form pictures of what’s where.
X-Rays use x-ray radiation, which is a form of ionizing radiation (meaning it will damage your tissues if exposed too long), and if you send it through the body, harder objects like bones let it pass through differently than soft tissues. Used to form single picture of an area.
CT scan stands for Computed Tomography, which uses lots of X-rays (which is why you don’t do them often) to form “slices” of the body in images. CAT scan is an old way of talking about CT.
Ultrasound uses ultra-high-frequency sounds (much too high-pitched to hear) to create images of an area.
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