2. A medical examination by using an electronic device which generates an image for a computer: At the medical center, Timothy had an ultrasound scan performed on his kidneys which revealed several cysts.
3. The image which is acquired by using an electronic instrument for medical purposes: The digital scan was scrutinized by the doctor to make sure that the tumor had been removed completely during the operation.
2. To inspect reading material in order to single out important information: Susan scanned the directions about her new washing machine in order to see how to use it correctly.
3. To transform an image into a digital form: Betty wanted to scan the article about trees so she could send it via e-mail to her sister.
4. To effectuate an object, a surface, or a part of the body to be examined by an electromagnetic beam: Airports have metal detectors which scan luggage to make sure there are no illegal weapons hidden in them.
2. To glance at something, often in a hasty manner: The speaker barely had time to scan the statistics before responding to the questions.
3. To use a sensing device to examine objects: Wilma's nephew used a metal detector to scan for lost metal objects on the beach.
2. Disgrace to a person's integrity or reputation because of an immoral or disgraceful behavior: The scandal surrounding the runaway couple was the gossip of the town for a long time.
Delores likes to scan the newspapers every day to see if there is a new scandal involving some politician and she is rarely disappointed.
2. A computerized axial tomography scan which is an x-ray procedure that combines many x-ray images with the aid of a computer to generate cross-sectional views and, if needed, three-dimensional images of the internal organs and structures of the body.
Computerized axial tomography is more commonly known by its abbreviated names, CT scan or CAT scan. A CT scan is used to define normal and abnormal structures in the body and/or to assist in procedures by helping to accurately guide the placement of instruments or treatments.
The procedure was used first in 1972 to study the brain and is a painless and noninvasive procedure that does not require any special preparation. It is considered to be 100 times more sensitive than conventional radiography or X-rays.
As well as being essential for the study of the brain, CT scanning is considered to be invaluable in investigating diseases of any part of the body. It is particularly useful for locating and imaging tumors, and for guiding the operator who is performing a needle biopsy.
Meckel's diverticulum is an outpouching of the small bowel. About one in every fifty people has a Meckel's diverticulum. It is usually located about two feet before the junction of the small bowel with the colon (the large intestine) in the right lower abdomen.
The diverticulum can become inflamed, ulcerate and perforate (break open or rupture). This can cause obstruction of the small bowel.
If it is inflamed or perforated, Meckel's diverticulum is usually removed by surgery.
The computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan can reveal some soft-tissue and other structures that cannot even be seen in conventional X-rays.
Using the same dosage of radiation as that of an ordinary X-ray machine, an entire slice of the body can be made visible with about 100 times more clarity with the CAT scan.
The "cuts" (tomograms) for the CAT scan are usually made five or ten millimeters (mm) apart. The CAT machine rotates 180 degrees around the patient's body; hence, the term "axial".
The machine sends out a thin X-ray beam at 160 different points. Crystals positioned at the opposite points of the beam pick up and record the absorption rates of the varying thicknesses of tissue and bone. The data are then relayed to a computer that turns the information into a 2-dimensional cross-sectional image.
CAT scanning was invented in 1972 by the British engineer Godfrey N. Hounsfield (later Sir Godfrey) and the South African (later American) physicist Alan Cormack.
CAT scanning was already in general use by 1979, the year Hounsfield and Cormack were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for its development.
CT stands for computerized tomography.