Had CAT Scan For Throbbing Artery In Neck. What Would Be Seen In The CAT Scan?

Posted on Wed, 11 Dec 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 Answered on

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : A friend had a CAT Scan in the ER for a throbbing artery in the neck. The doctor told her the ER wasn't the place to address it but she should talk to her Primary Care Doctor about her white matter. Nothing was found regarding the neck vein and she went home. What would be visible in a CAT scan re: white matter ? She is ignoring the problem but I'm concerned.

Answered by Dr. Vivek Chail (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: ?Demyelination or degeneration Detailed Answer: Hi XXXXX, Thanks for writing in to us. I have read through your query in detail. The brain is made of many important structures like white matter, grey matter, basal ganglia, ventricles, thalamus, blood vessels, corpus callosum. CAT scan is used to study many of the structures in the brain. In the white matter, there can be demyelination which is a degenerative process and needs further clinical examination by a neurologist. Please attach a copy of the CAT scan report in your next query. Regards, Dr.Vivek

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar