Radiographs (X-ray)
Remote interpretation
Radiography is a medical technique that uses X-rays or ionising radiation to visualise the internal shape of the human body, especially the lungs and bones.
This technique is safe, non-invasive for the patient and is one of the most widely used radiological imaging methods. The procedure is very simple to perform and consists of X-rays passing through the patient’s body and being absorbed, depending on the area, in different amounts. As a result, dense materials such as bones in the human body will appear in white colours, while gas will be black and muscle or fat will appear in various shades of grey.
The purposes of X-rays are to detect conditions such as:
- Bone fractures;
- Tumours;
- Abnormal masses in the body;
- Pneumonia;
- Focal lung lesions;
- Calcifications;
- Foreign objects;
- Dental disease.
The duration of an X-ray is generally 5-10 minutes, but this procedure can be extended to 30-40 minutes in dynamic/radioscopic techniques.
The most commonly used types of radiographs are:
- Cranial X-ray;
- Joint radiography;
- Radiography of the hands;
- Radiography of the neck;
- X-rays of the kidneys, urethra and bladder;
- Abdominal X-ray;
- Chest (lung) X-ray.
