Chest Radiography Radiology |
Chest X-rays are the most commonly taken X-ray images administered in hospitals and clinics today.
Chest X-rays are taken when a patient is suspected of having problems with the lungs, heart, or other chest structures.
Even when there's no sign of illness, chest X-rays are commonly administered during annual physical checkups, prior to employment, prior to getting insurance, prior to surgery, and even for immigration.
In the course of this procedure, radiation is momentarily applied to the chest. The image that is produced results from the X-rays passing through the chest and reaching the film. Structures like bone, which are dense and have a high atomic number, absorb a lot of X-rays, and fewer X-rays reach the film, thus appearing white. Structures like the lungs, which are full of air and have a low atomic number and density, appear black because most X-rays pass through without being absorbed. Heart, muscle, fat, tumor, pneumonia, and fluid absorb fewer X-rays than bone, but absorb more than air, so they appear gray on film.
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