3-241:

You had a CT scan of your spinal cord and your spinal nerves.

A CT scan involves sending X-ray beams through the body. Measurements are then taken to see how much of these beams are getting to the other side of the body. A computer then converts the measurements into images of the inside of the body.

The spine contains the spinal cord. The spinal cord is made up of nerve fibers. Individual nerve fibers emerge from the spinal cord and form nerves. The nerves leave the spine through small openings in the sides. Spinal nerves are the initial areas of nerves that emerge from the spinal cord.

Around the spinal cord there is spinal fluid. The CT scan involved adding a contrast agent to the spinal fluid. A contrast agent is a fluid. This fluid ensures that certain tissue is more visible in the images.

The contrast agent is used to show the spinal cord and the spinal nerves with particular accuracy. The contrast agent should show whether the spinal cord or the spinal nerves are being constricted at any point. It should also show whether the contrast agent is being distributed normally along the spinal cord.