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Home  >  Your brain  >  How does your brain work?  >  How can we image the brain?  >  Did X-rays help?

  • How does your brain work?
    • How does your nervous system work?
    • What does the autonomic nervous system do?
    • What are the parts of your brain?
    • How can we image the brain?
      • Did X-rays help?
      • What are CAT scans?
      • What are MRI scans?
    • How can we measure brain activity?
    • What does the social brain look like?
    • How do genes influence your brain?
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Did X-rays help?

Before scanning techniques were invented, doctors could use only X-rays to look at the brain. This didn't work very well, and involved injecting air or other substances into the patient to improve the contrast of the image - painful and hazardous procedures. The introduction in the 1970s of techniques like CAT and MRI revolutionised medicine.
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Coloured X-ray of a healthy human skull.

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What are CAT scans?

What are CAT scans?

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How can we image the brain?

How can we image the brain?

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