Clinical Test 1 Flashcards
(39 cards)
There are two types of xray beams
horizontal and vertical
The more dense an object - the more xray it absorbs
therefore the whiter it appears on the xray
The less dense an object - the less xray it absorbs
therefore the darker it appears on the xray
Conventional radiographs are produced using
ionizing radiation
What does PACS stand for
Picture Archiving Communications Storage system
Horizontal xray beams are usually parallel
to the floor - an example is an upright xray
Vertical xrays beams example
is an abdominal xray while the patient is lying on the table
In conventional radiology, an air-fluid or fat-fluid level will be visible only
if the xray beam is horizontal, regardless of the position of the patient.
Studies where you can see fluid levels (if present) are:
erect, upright, cross-table, or decubitus
Five basic densities seen on xrays
air, fat, soft-tissue or fluid, calcium, and metal
Air appears
as the darkest or blackest on xray
Fat appears
lighter shade of gray than air on xray
Soft-tissue or fluid - because these appear the same on xray -
you cannot differentiate between heart muscle and the blood inside of the heart on a chest film.
calcium appears
usually contained within bones
metal appears
the whitest on an xray
normal lung markings
virtually all of the white lines seen in the lungs on a chest xray are blood vessels
bronchi are mostly
invisible on a normal chest xray because they are normally very thin-walled, contain air and are surrounded by air
Pleura is composed of two layers
parietal and visceral
Pleura contains and is usually not visible on a conventional chest xray
no air and several ML of fluid normally
Lateral xrays can help
diagnose disease that you are unsure of or unable to see on a frontal image alone
Five key areas which need to be reviewed on a chest xray are:
retrosternal clear space the hilar region the fissures the thoracic spine the diaphragm and posterior costphrenic sulci
the retrosternal clear space is present
behind the sternum
the hila produce
no discrete shadow
the vetebral bodies are approx. of
equal height and their endplates are parallel to each other