ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull And Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) code group CP23 includes procedures performed to image the musculoskeletal structures of the skull and cervical spine using tomographic nuclear medicine techniques. These ICD-10-PCS codes are used for inpatient documentation when three-dimensional nuclear medicine imaging of the skull and cervical spine is performed to assess structural or functional pathology. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-PCS CP23 group is essential for proper inpatient reimbursement, as it captures the specific imaging procedure performed and supports clinical documentation accuracy.

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Skull And Cervical Spine Tomographic Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

This procedure group includes tomographic nuclear medicine imaging studies of the skull and cervical spine that capture three-dimensional images from radioactive emissions. These procedures target the musculoskeletal system of the skull and cervical spine to evaluate structural and functional abnormalities. Accurate ICD-10-PCS coding ensures inpatient records reflect the imaging performed and supports correct case mix assignment and reimbursement.

Code Attributes

Character	ICD-10-PCS Category	Code Group Details
C	Section	Nuclear Medicine
P	Body System	Musculoskeletal System
2	Operation	Tomographic (Tomo) Nuclear Medicine Imaging
3	Body Part	Skull and Cervical Spine

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ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull And Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

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Skull And Cervical Spine Tomographic Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

Character	ICD-10-PCS Category	Code Group Details
C	Section	Nuclear Medicine
P	Body System	Musculoskeletal System
2	Operation	Tomographic (Tomo) Nuclear Medicine Imaging
3	Body Part	Skull and Cervical Spine

When to Use

Use a code from this group when an inpatient undergoes tomographic nuclear medicine imaging of the skull and cervical spine to evaluate suspected structural or functional abnormalities. Codes in this group apply when the imaging modality captures radioactive emissions and reconstructs three-dimensional images of the targeted musculoskeletal anatomy.

ICD-10-PCS Codes

2 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
CP231ZZ	Tomographic (Tomo) Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Skull and Cervical Spine using Technetium 99m (Tc-99m)
CP23YZZ	Tomographic (Tomo) Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Skull and Cervical Spine using Other Radionuclide

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An elderly patient with known metastatic prostate cancer is admitted for new-onset severe occipital headache and progressive neck pain with focal neurologic changes; inpatient evaluation includes assessment for skull or cervical spine bone metastases and suspected osteoblastic lesions not well characterized on prior CT. A tomographic nuclear medicine study of the skull and cervical spine is performed to localize abnormal radiotracer uptake and delineate extent of osseous involvement. Typical codes: CP231ZZ, CP23YZZ
A middle-aged patient hospitalized electively for workup of chronic, unexplained cervical pain and prior inconclusive MRI due to metallic hardware; clinicians order a three-dimensional nuclear medicine tomographic study to evaluate metabolic activity in the cervical vertebrae and occipital bone to distinguish active inflammatory or infectious processes from degenerative changes. The inpatient nuclear medicine tomographic imaging targets the skull and cervical spine to provide functional information that guides further management. Typical codes: CP231ZZ, CP23YZZ
A patient admitted from the emergency department with fever and worsening neck stiffness after spinal surgery on the upper cervical vertebrae develops concern for postoperative osteomyelitis; tomographic nuclear medicine imaging of the skull and cervical spine is obtained to detect focal increased radionuclide uptake consistent with infection versus postoperative change. This three-dimensional functional imaging helps localize infected bone in the skull/cervical region when other modalities are equivocal. Typical codes: CP23YZZ, CP231ZZ

Related Codes

CP21-SKULL-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP22-CERVICAL-SPINE-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP24-THORAX-TOMOGRAPHIC-NUCLEAR-MEDICINE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Thorax: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP26-PELVIS-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP27-SPINE-PELVIS-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine And Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP28-UPPER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP29-UPPER-EXTREMITY-LEFT-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP2B-UPPER-EXTREMITIES-BILATERAL-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremities Bilateral: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP2C-LOWER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremity, Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP2D-LEFT-LOWER-EXTREMITY-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Left Lower Extremity: Procedure Code Group Overview

Showing 1–10 of 15

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

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When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

2 rows

ICD-10-PCS Code	Description
CP231ZZ	Tomographic (Tomo) Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Skull and Cervical Spine using Technetium 99m (Tc-99m)
CP23YZZ	Tomographic (Tomo) Nuclear Medicine Imaging of Skull and Cervical Spine using Other Radionuclide

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An elderly patient with known metastatic prostate cancer is admitted for new-onset severe occipital headache and progressive neck pain with focal neurologic changes; inpatient evaluation includes assessment for skull or cervical spine bone metastases and suspected osteoblastic lesions not well characterized on prior CT. A tomographic nuclear medicine study of the skull and cervical spine is performed to localize abnormal radiotracer uptake and delineate extent of osseous involvement. Typical codes: CP231ZZ, CP23YZZ
A middle-aged patient hospitalized electively for workup of chronic, unexplained cervical pain and prior inconclusive MRI due to metallic hardware; clinicians order a three-dimensional nuclear medicine tomographic study to evaluate metabolic activity in the cervical vertebrae and occipital bone to distinguish active inflammatory or infectious processes from degenerative changes. The inpatient nuclear medicine tomographic imaging targets the skull and cervical spine to provide functional information that guides further management. Typical codes: CP231ZZ, CP23YZZ
A patient admitted from the emergency department with fever and worsening neck stiffness after spinal surgery on the upper cervical vertebrae develops concern for postoperative osteomyelitis; tomographic nuclear medicine imaging of the skull and cervical spine is obtained to detect focal increased radionuclide uptake consistent with infection versus postoperative change. This three-dimensional functional imaging helps localize infected bone in the skull/cervical region when other modalities are equivocal. Typical codes: CP23YZZ, CP231ZZ

Related Codes

CP21-SKULL-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP22-CERVICAL-SPINE-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP24-THORAX-TOMOGRAPHIC-NUCLEAR-MEDICINE

ICD-10-PCS Code For Thorax: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP26-PELVIS-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP27-SPINE-PELVIS-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Spine And Pelvis: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP28-UPPER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP29-UPPER-EXTREMITY-LEFT-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremity Left: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP2B-UPPER-EXTREMITIES-BILATERAL-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Upper Extremities Bilateral: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP2C-LOWER-EXTREMITY-RIGHT-TOMOGRAPHIC

ICD-10-PCS Code For Lower Extremity, Right: Procedure Code Group Overview

CP2D-LEFT-LOWER-EXTREMITY-TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGING

ICD-10-PCS Code For Left Lower Extremity: Procedure Code Group Overview

Showing 1–10 of 15

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull And Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull And Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview policy alerts

Skull And Cervical Spine Tomographic Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull And Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-PCS Code For Skull And Cervical Spine: Procedure Code Group Overview policy alerts

Skull And Cervical Spine Tomographic Nuclear Medicine Imaging Procedure Overview

Code Attributes

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which procedures are included in the ICD-10-PCS CP23 code group?

What are the specific ICD-10-PCS codes in the CP23 group?

Which section, body system, and operation do CP23 codes belong to?

When should CP23 codes be used in inpatient documentation?

Why is accurate coding within the CP23 group important for reimbursement?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-PCS Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which procedures are included in the ICD-10-PCS CP23 code group?

What are the specific ICD-10-PCS codes in the CP23 group?

Which section, body system, and operation do CP23 codes belong to?

When should CP23 codes be used in inpatient documentation?

Why is accurate coding within the CP23 group important for reimbursement?

References