How To Read X Rays

The purple arrows are pointing to areas of decay which show up as a dark spot on x rays.

How to read x rays. When you are preparing to read an x ray make sure you have all the information on the patient including age and sex and their medical history. 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. Examples will follow for each fracture pattern. The blue arrows are pointing to the healthy enamel. As a general rule the heart base should not be wider than 1 2 the total width of the diaphragm.

Systematic reading of x rays identify type of fracture simple. This sounds obvious but when you are stressed and under pressure you can skip some of the basics. Comminuted identify the type of fracture. Reading plain x ray images of the skeleton is a basic radiology skill. The dentin layer is between the enamel and the pulp.

How to read x rays dental x rays enable us to see inside a tooth. Left right erect ap pa supine prone. The silhouette of the heart should be identified and the heart borders should be clear. 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 red arrows are pointing to the pulp where the nerve and blood vessels are located for a tooth. Fat and muscle appear as shades of gray. 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. The green arrows are pointing to the bone. Dense materials such as bone and metal show up as white on x rays.

Butterfly segment complex. 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. Spiral oblique transverse wedge. This quick guide shows you some of what we see and what we are looking for. Step 1 check the patient s name.