Chapter 1, Problem 3CAL

Your friend Eric complains of some pain in his “belly area.” You ask him to point to the precise location of the pain. He points to a region that is below his umbilicus, on the lower right side of his abdomen, and just medial to his hip bones.

3. Eric goes to the doctor to determine the cause and source of the pain. The physician orders a CT scan, which shows that Eric has an enlarged and inflamed appendix (an organ associated with the digestive system). Eric asks the physician why she didn’t just take an x-ray of his belly region. She explains an x-ray would not be the best diagnostic imaging tool in this case because

1. a. x-ray images are more expensive to produce than CT scans.
2. b. soft-tissue structures don’t show up well on basic x-rays.
3. c. the x-rays could inflame the appendix further and cause it to burst.
4. d. x-rays now are used primarily for bone injuries only.