Pain.

Oftentimes a patient presenting to the doctor's office or ER with nonspecific complaints (abdominal pain, nausea vomiting) and basic physical exam and labs may not reveal much or suggest a potentially serious problem. A CT scan gives the doctor the opportunity to non-surgically take a look inside the abdomen to assess what, if anything, is wrong with intra-abdominal contents. (Instead of standing outside looking at a house wondering where the kitchen is located, just go inside and have a look!)

CT scan of the abdomen is one of the most common and useful tests in radiology. A huge amount of information can be collected from this quick test. Sometimes oral and IV contrast are used to help depending on the clinical situation.