What are slices in Computer tomography scans?

Question

What does the word slice mean in the context of Compute tomography? The more detail the better.

Answer 1

It's a cross section of the anatomical area being scanned
usually done at centimeter intervals.
Say it's a "slice" of the abdomen at the level of the umbilicus (belly button).
Imagine you are at the person's feet looking up at the upper body that has just been neatly cut in half at the middle.
The CT scan shows you what the organs look like at that cross sectional level.
By looking at a whole series you can see everything as if the person were diced up for an anatomy lesson.
Hope this isn't too graphic for you, but that's what I think of when I look at the scans. You want to see the anatomy and see what may be wrong without actually slicing the person.
Get it?
RC MD

Answer 2

A computer assisted tomography scan, also called a CAT scan, gives views of the body's internal organs in slices. These slices are similar to a loaf of bread for a better idea. These slices allow a radiologist to view organs in a way that x-rays just can't do. An MRI, magnetic resonance imaging, gives an even better view, also in slices, that are clearer than a CAT scan. However, the MRI is more expensive than the CAT.

Answer 3

Computed Axial Tomography scan

Answer 4

The computer looks at your body in slices horizontally and vertically. The newer CT scans are able to perform imaging in smaller slices than 10 years ago. I understand they are able to slice the pictures in a 1 cm increment. Just see it as your body being viewed in 1 cm cubes.