CT scan

The CT scan is painless. CT stands for Computerised (Axial) Tomography, which means a scan that takes pictures from all around your body and uses a computer to put them together.

It is shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the middle. The patient lies on a couch which slides back and forth through the scanner.

Older CT scanners take a number of pictures as slices, a little like the slices of a loaf of bread. The newer scanners collect more information, like a whole loaf. The information is fed into a computer to build up a very accurate picture of the inside of the body.

Cancerhelp UK and Going for a websites provide pictures and further explanation of CT.