The thing often referred to as a doughnut is a CT Scanning Machine. CT scanning is very painless. CT scanner is a huge machine that has a doughnut hole in the center with a moveable table that the patient lays on. All that is required of the patient is to lay still. An x-ray technician will guide the table with you laying on it to the proper position. Often a physician may require a patient to have a CT scan to make a diagnosis .

Many illnesses can be caught early by the use of a CT scan. Cancer; trauma , cardiovascular disease and problems with your musculoskeletal systems are just a few of the many illnesses that can be detected.

When x-ray are required of organs; blood vessels; bone; or soft tissues ,it is recommended that a CT scan be preformed. Multiple images or pictures can be produced and put together for cross viewing of the body area being studied by your physician.

It is best to have a CT scan to diagnosis diseases that may lead to you having a stroke; kidney failure ; or different forms of cancer such as : lung ,liver and pancreatic cancer. The images from a CT scan promote physicians to conform the size of tumors , location, and to what extent .

Spinal problems and other skeletal features can be clearly diagnosed even to the smallest bone involved. All tissues and blood vessels around the area being studied can be seen .If there is a health problem there a CT scan is sure to pick it up.

When having a CT scan , there are x-ray beams and electronic x-ray detectors that will rotate around you while you are laying on the table. During this time , you may feel the table moving very gently to different spots. The x-ray beams are following a spiral path.

When complete a special computer puts the images together to create two dimensional cross sectional images . The technician can view the finished images on the computer screen. The different slices of your body can be preformed in a matter of time with a lot more detail for physicians to make a positive diagnosis.

For the terminal ill; children ; and the elderly , CT scanning is very beneficial. CT scanning usually takes five to thirty minutes to scan your body.

Some CT scanning may require a contrast substance to be used. (example : dye). Some may be intravenous injected ; swallowed; or administered by enema.

An ounce of prevention can extend your life for many more years.