CTPA · AXIAL
STAGE 01 / 04
T + 00.0s
5mm / slice
STAGE 01 · PRE-CONTRAST
The baseline scan
What you are seeing

Vessels, empty

Before contrast, the pulmonary arteries and the surrounding tissue appear at similar shades of grey. The vessels are there, but they blend into the background. A clot, if one exists, is invisible at this stage. A chest X-ray would look the same.

Key fact
Without contrast, blood and clot look identical on CT imaging.