Why Is Oral contrast Needed for CT?
Oral contrast is given as a drink before a CT scan to highlight the bowel. Often there is a 1-2 hour wait before scanning takes place to allow enough…
Author: A. Mendelson, MD
Why is IV contrast Useful For CT?
IV contrast injected through a vein prior to your CT highlights organs, blood vessels and bowel loops on a CT scan. Structures throughout the body get highlighted to different degrees…
Small Amount of Free Fluid on Pelvic Ultrasound
Small amount of free fluid in a reproductive aged women on ultrasound is a common and normal finding. Small amount of free fluid in the pelvis is a non specific…
Enlarged Ovary on Ultrasound
Enlarged ovary on ultrasound is usually because of some underlying abnormality. Usually ovaries are about 4 cm in size when measured in greatest dimension with some normal variation. Enlarged ovary…
Free Fluid on CT
Free fluid on CT means that the fluid is free flowing and not encapsulated. Free fluid can be simple, complex or bloody. The quantity of free fluid can range from…
Does Fat Stranding on CT Mean Surgery is Needed?
Fat stranding on CT means that the normally dark fat becomes lighter and dirtier looking. Fat stranding on CT can be an important indicator of inflammatory change around an organ…
Fat Stranding On CT
Fat stranding on CT describes the fat next to a structure looking lighter and dirtier than the usual homogeneous dark gray found throughout the body. Often fat stranding on…
Can A PET Scan Detect Cancer?
A PET scan is done after injecting a radioactive drug into your vein. A PET scan shows the metabolic activity of various tissues and abnormalities throughout the body. Many…
Extravasation
Extravasation is a commonly used term by radiologists to indicate that blood is going outside a blood vessel. It is also used in a more general way to denote that…
Filling Defect
A common term used by radiologists across all different types of tests is a filling defect. This means that there is something inside a lumen that prevents normal filling. A…
Foreign Body on X-ray
Foreign body on X-ray means that the radiologist is seeing something that does not belong in the body. Foreign body is something that comes from the outside and ends up…
Diffuse Bladder Wall Thickening On CT
Diffuse bladder wall thickening is a common finding on CT but one which often does not indicate a specific diagnosis. Diffuse bladder wall thickening is probably most commonly seen when…