How To Read X Rays

How to read x rays dental x rays enable us to see inside a tooth.

How to read x rays. Remember to compare with old x rays. For some types of x ray tests a contrast medium such as iodine or barium is introduced into your body to provide greater detail on the images. With x rays you can only see the hard tissues such as the teeth and bone but you cannot see the. Reading plain x ray images of the skeleton is a basic radiology skill. This sounds obvious but when you are stressed and under pressure you can skip some of the basics.

Fat and muscle appear as shades of gray. A close second to reading chest x rays learning how to read a musculoskeletal image is an essential skill to have much can be said about specific diagnoses that can be made on plain imaging but this post is more about an approach to a general msk x ray whether it is a study of the fingers hands wrists forearms humeri. The air in your lungs shows up as black. X rays of the two adjacent joints must be taken. Spiral oblique transverse wedge.

This is an x ray of the back teeth on the upper arch. If you have the wrong x ray you will be wasting time not saving it step 2 look up the patient s history. This quick guide shows you some of what we see and what we are looking for. If the heart base is 1 2 the width of the diaphragm on the chest x ray it refers to cardiomegaly or pericardial effusion. It is easy to miss a fracture with only one view see red circle.

The silhouette of the heart should be identified and the heart borders should be clear. Step 1 check the patient s name. The purple arrows are pointing to areas of decay which show up as a dark spot on x rays. Measure the distance from the medial end of each clavicle to the spinous process of the vertebra at the same level which should be equal. Above all else make sure you are looking at the correct chest x ray first.

Name and date of birth of the patient side of extremity body date of x ray two views help to fully describe the fracture in both planes. Examples will follow for each fracture pattern. Comminuted identify the type of fracture. As a general rule the heart base should not be wider than 1 2 the total width of the diaphragm. Butterfly segment complex.