Diagnostic Services

Whether you need an X-ray, CT scan, MRI or other diagnostic service, South Texas Health System has the service you need.

Click on the links below to see what diagnostic services are available at McAllen Medical Center, McAllen Heart Hospital or Edinburg Regional Medical Center.

301 W. Expressway 83 McAllen, TX 78503 (956) 632-4000	1102 W. Trenton Road Edinburg, TX 78539 (956) 388-6000

1900 South "D" Street McAllen, TX 78503 (956) 994-2000

X-ray

An X-ray image is produced when a small amount of radiation passes through the body to expose sensitive film on the other side. The ability of X-rays to penetrate tissues and bones depends on the tissue's composition and mass. The difference between these two elements creates the images. The chest X-ray is the most common radiologic examination. Contrast agents, such as barium, can be swallowed to highlight the esophagus, stomach, and intestine and are used to help visualize an organ or film.

Computed Tomography (CT)

Computed tomography or CT, shows organs of interest at selected levels of the body. They are visual equivalent of bloodless slices of anatomy, with each scan being a single slice. CT examinations produce detailed organ studies by stacking individual image slices. CT can image the internal portion of organs and separate overlapping structures precisely. The scans are produced by having the source of the X-ray beam encircle or rotate around the patient. X-rays passing through the body are detected by an array of sensors. Information from the sensors is computer processed and then displayed as an image on a video screen.

MRI

Like CT, MRI produces images, which are the visual equivalent of a slice of anatomy. MRI, however, is also capable of producing those images in an infinite number of projections through the body. MRI uses a large magnet that surrounds the patient, radio frequencies, and a computer to produce its images. As the patient enters a MRI scanner, his body is surrounded by a magnetic field up to 8,000 times stronger than that of the earth. The scanner subjects nuclei of the body's atoms to a radio signal, temporarily knocking select ones out of alignment. When the signal stops, the nuclei return to the aligned position, releasing their own faint radio frequencies from which the scanner and computer produce detailed images of the human anatomy. Patients who cannot undergo a MRI examination include those people dependent upon cardiac pacemakers and those with metallic foreign bodies in the brain or around the eye.

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