EMR
READING CT SCANS ::.

Reading a CT Scan can be tricky and involves an immense amount of training. CT Scans are black and white and the coloration is very dependent upon density. More dense areas appear lighter while less dense areas appear darker. So, dark spaces on a CT Scan indicate empty space while white spaces often indicate dense objects. In the brain, most tissue will normally appear gray, with empty spots (such as the ventricles), appearing black. The skull and other bones will appear white. Such an example can be seen below:
CT Scan Labeled
CT SCAN W/ LABELS ILLUSTRATING THE EFFECTS OF MATERIAL DENSITY
Radiologists reading CT Scans normally look for abnormalities in tissue to give them diagnostic clues. In the CT Scan below on the left, you can see a large white mass in the normally gray brain tissue. This is an indication of bleeding the brain, caused in this case by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

The CT Scan on the right shows a small mass in the lower right hand quadrant. While still gray, it is lighter than the surrounding tissues, indicating a denser area. In this case, this is a brain tumor:
CT Scan w/ Bleeding
THE WHITE PATCH IN THIS
CT SCAN INDICATES BLEEDING
CT Scan w/ Tumor
THE GRAY SPOT IN THIS
CT SCAN INDICATES A TUMOR