Research
Mixed
Computed Tomography (CT) imaging at the L3 vertebra is a gold-standard, accurate, and precise method for assessing skeletal muscle cross-sectional area and visceral adipose tissue, allowing for the estimation of whole-body composition from single cross-sectional images.
For patients already undergoing CT scans for medical reasons (like cancer or ICU care), the images can be used to accurately assess muscle mass and fat distribution at the L3 vertebra level. This 'opportunistic' use provides critical nutritional data without exposing the patient to additional radiation.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
CT is a gold-standard imaging method for body composition analysis at the tissue-organ level... single abdominal cross-sectional images can be used to estimate whole-body composition.
Why this rating
Described as 'gold-standard' and 'valid, accurate, and precise' with supporting citations.
Source
Lean Tissue Imaging
Carla M. Prado et al. · Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2014
DOI 10.1177/0148607114550189
narrative_reviewCited 550×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
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