CINXE.COM
The Radiology Information Resource for Patients | Radiologyinfo.org
<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <title>The Radiology Information Resource for Patients | Radiologyinfo.org</title> <link rel="icon" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/projects/radinfo/index.png?rev=2f250f5878254a09af0996d7356051d0&hash=8E4ABABD8D30DAA79D1855C7088CCD5A" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/projects/radinfo/index.png?rev=2f250f5878254a09af0996d7356051d0" type="image/x-icon" /> <meta name="author" content="Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and American College of Radiology (ACR)" /> <meta name="description" content="RadiologyInfo.org tells you how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams." /> <link itemprop="url" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Home" /> <meta property="og:description" content="RadiologyInfo.org tells you how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams." /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Radiologyinfo.org" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <meta property="twitter:card" content="summary" /> <meta property="twitter:title" content="Home" /> <meta property="twitter:description" content="RadiologyInfo.org tells you how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams." /> <link rel="alternate" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/" hreflang="en"/> <link rel="alternate" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/es/" hreflang="es"/> <meta name="robots" content="INDEX, FOLLOW"> <script type="application/ld+json">{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Web Site", "name": "RadiologyInfo.org", "url": "http://www.radiologyinfo.org/", "inLanguage": "en", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/" }, "audience": "patients", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "RadiologyInfo.org", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/radiologyinfo_forpatients.jpg?rev=819ea1b147f74a9c87e307fa9338c6f7&hash=231A7405F263E1F14EFA154FB92D8D81" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.facebook.com/radiologyinfo", "https://twitter.com/radiologyinfo" ] } }</script> <meta name="VIcurrentDateTime" content="638680375649151937" /> <meta name="VirtualFolder" content="/" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="/layouts/system/VisitorIdentification.js"></script> <!--All Pages--> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.5/css/bootstrap.min.css" /> <link href="/css/radinfo/bundle.css?v=PY45sb5b_cZEDVmb5aF7Ci5wDFJLZxfQHHfbROL8FjI1" rel="stylesheet"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/" /> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-N7N74GQ');</script> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="Ezj41f8nTGdAOiT_ZUjpnjd7wQXGaf-kPmf7qyCLVoQ" /></head> <body> <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-N7N74GQ" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) --> <div id="skiptocontent"><a href="#main">skip to main content</a></div> <div class="container-fluid"> <div class="row" style="margin-left: 0; margin-right: -20px;"> <header class="col-md-12"> <form class="navbar-form navbar-right hidden-xs" action="/search" role="search"> <div class="searchBar"> <input id="term" name="term" title="Search" type="text" placeholder="Search" value="" aria-label="Search the site"> <button id="termsubmit" type="submit" aria-label="Submit Site search"> <svg style="width:24px;height:24px;" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <path fill="#115871" d="M9.5,3A6.5,6.5 0 0,1 16,9.5C16,11.11 15.41,12.59 14.44,13.73L14.71,14H15.5L20.5,19L19,20.5L14,15.5V14.71L13.73,14.44C12.59,15.41 11.11,16 9.5,16A6.5,6.5 0 0,1 3,9.5A6.5,6.5 0 0,1 9.5,3M9.5,5C7,5 5,7 5,9.5C5,12 7,14 9.5,14C12,14 14,12 14,9.5C14,7 12,5 9.5,5Z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> </form> <img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/radiologyinfo_forpatients.jpg?rev=819ea1b147f74a9c87e307fa9338c6f7&la=en&h=62&w=300&hash=4AECBCBED1FDB2F6FDCDACAEA3EA24BA" alt="RadInfo Logo" style="max-width:100%;margin-left:-15px;" /> </header> </div> <!--Static navbar--> <div class="navbar navbar-inverse" role="navigation" style="z-index:1; margin-left:-20px !important; margin-right: -20px !important;"> <div class="container-fluid"> <div class="navbar-header"> <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle collapsed pull-left" data-toggle="collapse" data-target=".navbar-collapse"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> </button> </div> <div class="navbar-collapse collapse" style="height: 1px; margin-left:5px !important;"> <form class="navbar-form navbar-left search-query hidden-lg hidden-md hidden-sm form-inline" action="/search" role="search"> <div class="searchBar"> <input id="term-mobile" name="searchterm" title="Search" type="text" placeholder="Search" value="" aria-label="Search the site"> <button id="termsubmit-mobile" type="submit" aria-label="Submit Site search"> <svg style="width:24px;height:24px;" viewBox="0 0 24 24"> <path fill="#115871" d="M9.5,3A6.5,6.5 0 0,1 16,9.5C16,11.11 15.41,12.59 14.44,13.73L14.71,14H15.5L20.5,19L19,20.5L14,15.5V14.71L13.73,14.44C12.59,15.41 11.11,16 9.5,16A6.5,6.5 0 0,1 3,9.5A6.5,6.5 0 0,1 9.5,3M9.5,5C7,5 5,7 5,9.5C5,12 7,14 9.5,14C12,14 14,12 14,9.5C14,7 12,5 9.5,5Z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> </form> <ul class="nav navbar-nav"> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/test-treatment" >Tests and Treatments</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/pediatric" >Pediatric Care</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/screening" >Screening</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/disease-condition" >Diseases and Conditions</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/patient-safety" >Safety</a> </li> <li> <a class="gold" href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/es/"> En Espa帽ol </a> </li> </ul> </div><!--/.nav-collapse --> </div><!--/.container-fluid --> </div> <!--GRID ROW--> <div class="row"> <div id="ri-leftcol-desktop" class="col-lg-2 hidden-md hidden-sm hidden-xs"> <div id="spotlight"> <p class="colorhead ">Spotlight</p> <div class="left-pad"> <p> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/psa_lc" >November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month</a> </p> <p>Recently Posted:</p> <ul style="margin-left: -20px"> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/article-idor" >International Day of Radiology</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/scrotal-mass-and-pain" >Scrotal Mass and Pain</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/pelvic-pain" >Pelvic Pain</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/article-head-ct-report" >Head CT Report</a> </li> </ul> <p> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/radiology-and-you" >Radiology and You</a> </p> <p> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/for-kids" >RadInfo 4 Kids</a> </p> </div> </div> <div id="pediatric"> <p class="colorhead dontsplit">Pediatric Content</p> <div class="left-pad"> <!-- <p class="ped-graphic small">Some imaging tests and treatments have special pediatric considerations. The teddy bear denotes child-specific content.</p> --> <div class="ped-blurb-container"> <div class="ped-img-container"><img height="42" alt="Pediatric" src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/images/radinfo/sprites/pediatric.svg?rev=9a4f35ca4a324a7dad54f6768eba67c7&hash=923AF452BA66C4D55FC6A9944312AA63" /></div> <div id="ped-blurb-text">Some imaging tests and treatments have special pediatric considerations. The hand denotes child-specific content.</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="aboutsite" style="padding-bottom:0px"> <p class="colorhead dontend">Sponsored By</p> <div> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/about-acr" class="sponsored-logo" aria-label="About ACR" title="About ACR" ><img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/logos/new-acr-stacked-color-150x100.png?rev=d183b18e9c8d44cfb353db86ed4443e4&la=en&h=100&w=150&hash=B5E902F5026051C41AE63FEED482CC81" alt="American College of Radiology" /></a><a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/about-rsna" class="sponsored-logo" aria-label="About RSNA" title="About RSNA" ><img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/logos/new_rsna_signature_logo_rgb3.png?rev=469d236aa3f94550991351688f86c4af&la=en&h=100&w=150&hash=3A72963E2C57E838B05B27560EAFBA7C" alt="Radiological Society of North America" /></a> </div> </div> </div> <div id="main" class="col-lg-10 col-xs-12"> <div id="photo" class="hidden-xs"> <div id="carousel-example-generic" class="carousel slide" data-ride="carousel" data-interval="5000"> <!-- Wrapper for slides --> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="item active" index="1"> <img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/carousel/home-page/banner-6-blank.png?rev=973155901b5b4045b88eee663a2a540b&hash=518BDDFA8737D398D549528A5E7D565F" alt="banner 6"> </div> </div> <img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/carousel/home-page/tagline-en.png?rev=dd6e6c9538a64f45a5049f3cea51ed1c&la=en&h=96&w=1152&hash=949A334271438C4E3DBA5E0E14E03F95" class="tagline" alt="The radiology information resource for patients" /> </div> <!-- Carousel --> </div><div id="main-inner" class="home-page"> <h1>Welcome!</h1> <p><em>RadiologyInfo.org</em> tells you how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams. The website contains over 260 procedure, exam and disease descriptions covering diagnostic and interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy and radiation safety and is updated frequently with new information. All material on the <em>RadiologyInfo.org</em> website is reviewed and approved by experts in the field of radiology from RSNA and the ACR, as well as other professional radiology organizations. </p> <div class="small"> <p class="please-note" role="heading" aria-level="4">Please note</p> <p><em>RadiologyInfo.org</em> is not a medical facility. Please contact your physician with specific medical questions or for a referral to a radiologist or other physician. To locate a medical imaging or radiation oncology provider in your community, you can search the <a class="externalURL" href="https://www.acraccreditation.org/accredited-facility-search" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACR Accredited Facilities Database</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 hidden-lg"> <div id="spotlight-m"> <p class="colorhead dontend">Spotlight</p> <div class="left-pad"> <p> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/psa_lc" >November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month</a> </p> <p>Recently Posted:</p> <ul style="margin-left: -20px"> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/article-idor" >International Day of Radiology</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/scrotal-mass-and-pain" >Scrotal Mass and Pain</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/pelvic-pain" >Pelvic Pain</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/article-head-ct-report" >Head CT Report</a> </li> </ul> <p> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/radiology-and-you" >Radiology and You</a> </p> <p> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/for-kids" >RadInfo 4 Kids</a> </p> </div> </div> <div class="aboutsite" style="padding-bottom:0px"> <p class="colorhead dontend">Sponsored By</p> <div> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/about-acr" class="sponsored-logo" aria-label="About ACR" title="About ACR" ><img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/logos/new-acr-stacked-color-150x100.png?rev=d183b18e9c8d44cfb353db86ed4443e4&la=en&h=100&w=150&hash=B5E902F5026051C41AE63FEED482CC81" alt="American College of Radiology" /></a><a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/about-rsna" class="sponsored-logo" aria-label="About RSNA" title="About RSNA" ><img src="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/-/media/radinfo/logos/new_rsna_signature_logo_rgb3.png?rev=469d236aa3f94550991351688f86c4af&la=en&h=100&w=150&hash=3A72963E2C57E838B05B27560EAFBA7C" alt="Radiological Society of North America" /></a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row" style="clear:both;"> <footer class="col-xs-12"> <div id="footer-nav"> <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/about-us" >About</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/contact-us" >Contact</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/faq" >FAQ</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/glossary-index" >Glossary</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/downloads" >Physician Resources</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/professions" >Professions</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/sitemap" >Site Map</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/about-privacy" >Privacy</a> | <a href="https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/about-terms-of-use" >Terms of Use</a> <br> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/radiologyinfo?ref=sgm" aria-label="Follow us on Facebook" target="_blank" title="Facebook" rel="noopener noreferrer" role="button" > <span class="radinfo-facebook"></span> </a> <a href="https://x.com/radiologyinfo_" aria-label="Follow us on X" target="_blank" title="X (formerly Twitter)" rel="noopener noreferrer" role="button" > <span class="radinfo-twitter"></span> </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/radinfo4patients/" aria-label="Follow us on Instagram" target="_blank" title="Instagram" rel="noopener noreferrer" role="button" > <span class="radinfo-rss"></span> </a> </div> <p class="small"> Copyright © 2024 Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (RSNA).<br> To help ensure current and accurate information, we do not permit copying but encourage linking to this site. </p> </footer> </div> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.5/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script> <!-- skip feedback form --> <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery-validate/1.15.0/jquery.validate.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery-validate/1.15.0/additional-methods.min.js"></script> <script src="/bundles/feedback.js?v="></script> <script> // PREVENT CACHING OF GLOSSARY PAGE IN MODAL $(document).ready(function () { $(".modal").on('hidden.bs.modal', function () { $(this).data('bs.modal', null); }); }); </script> <div class="modal fade" id="glModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog"> <div class="modal-dialog"> <div class="modal-content"> </div><!-- /modal-content --> </div><!-- /modal-dialog --> </div> <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/knockout/3.3.0/knockout-min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/bundles/knockout.js?v=dD2H_HJqhbiQ83vyng5RsXxv1easNhVpxVSoCfZLMaQ1"></script> <script src="/bundles/plugins.js?v=HrBVsItBux0XRaSuTkOvHRqXA8yW3DQS8tUNwHpQxjM1"></script> <script>jwplayer.key = "IDwfFk1/79IiHaen+wLsPVw5txauElXQ7izFmysRKu1C8GN9";</script> </div> <script> function pausePlayers(playing) { for (var i = 1; i < 5; i++) { if (i != playing) { jwplayer("player" + i).pause(true); } } }; if ($.isFunction(window.jwPlayerCallBackPlayer1)) { //execute it jwPlayerCallBackPlayer1(); } if ($.isFunction(window.jwPlayerCallBackPlayer2)) { //execute it jwPlayerCallBackPlayer2(); } if ($.isFunction(window.jwPlayerCallBackPlayer3)) { //execute it jwPlayerCallBackPlayer3(); } if ($.isFunction(window.jwPlayerCallBackPlayer4)) { //execute it jwPlayerCallBackPlayer4(); } </script> <script src="/js/cookie-policy-en.js"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ $('#page-contents').not('.no-columnize').columnize({ padding: 50, width: 500,lastNeverTallest: true }); $('.twoColumns').columnize({ columns: 2,lastNeverTallest: true }); $('li, h1, h2, h3, h4').addClass('dontsplit'); $('.split').removeClass('dontsplit'); }); </script> <script> var fileExtensionsToTrack = ["ashx","pdf","docx","doc","ppt", "mp4","zip","xls","xlsx"]; var includedHosts = ["www.radiologyinfo.org","stage.radiologyinfo.org","dev.radiologyinfo.org","auth.radiologyinfo.org","stageauth.radiologyinfo.org","devauth.radiologyinfo.org"]; $(document).ready(function () { $('body').on('click', 'a', function(event) { var isProd = top.location.host.indexOf("stage") === -1 && top.location.host.indexOf("dev") === -1; var linkHost = this.host; if (linkHost === null || this.getAttribute('href') === null) return; var url = $(this).attr('href').split('?')[0]; //remove query parameters var l = includedHosts.length; var validHost = false; for (var i = 0; i < l; i++) { if (linkHost.indexOf(includedHosts[i]) > -1) { validHost = true; break; } } if (!validHost) return; //make sure the link is to one of the included sites if (!url.startsWith('http')) {//fix relative URLs url = window.location.protocol + '//' + window.location.hostname + url; } var lUrl = url.toLowerCase(); var lastPart = lUrl.substr(lUrl.lastIndexOf('/') + 1); var lIndex = lastPart.lastIndexOf('.'); if (lIndex === -1) return; //exit if the URL has no extension var ext = lastPart.substr(lIndex + 1); //console.log(ext); if (fileExtensionsToTrack.indexOf(ext) > -1) { if (!isProd) console.log("Radinfo GA Tracking Event For: " + url.toLowerCase()); if (isProd) ga('send','event', 'download','click',url.toLowerCase(),0,{'nonInteraction': false}); } }); }); function trackPDFClick(elem) { var isProd = top.location.host.indexOf("stage") === -1 && top.location.host.indexOf("dev") === -1; var el = jQuery(elem); var href = (typeof(el.attr('href')) != 'undefined' ) ? el.attr('href') : ''; href = href.split('?')[0]; //remove query parameters if (!href.startsWith('http')) { href = window.location.protocol + '//' + window.location.hostname + href; } if (isProd) ga('send','event', 'download','click',href.toLowerCase(),0,{'nonInteraction': false}); if (!isProd) console.log("Radinfo GA Tracking Event (trackPDFClick) For: " + href.toLowerCase()); } </script></body> </html>