Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Chest, Anatomy, Lung, Respiratory system, Conventional radiography, CT, Education, Technical aspects, Artifacts, Image verification, Pathology, Not applicable
Authors:
C. Valdesi1, M. Mereu1, A. Farchione2, S. Conte1, S. Lo Cicero3, D. Veri4, M. Villani1, R. L. Patea1, A. R. Larici2; 1chieti/IT, 2Rome/IT, 3Palermo, Roma/IT, 4Pescara/IT
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2020/C-14996
Background
The chest x-ray is the most frequently requested radiologic examination. However the correct interpretation of a chest film requires the understanding of basic principles.
Chest x-ray is a plane representation of tridimensional structures. It is important to examine all the areas of the lung, the diaphragm, the heart and mediastinal borders. The thoracic area has a high intrinsic contrast due to the presence of tissues with different densities and especially the lung-soft tissue interfaces can result in a line or stripe and silhouette. These lines and silhouettes are useful localizers of disease because they can be displaced or obscured.
Radiologists have to know the normal anatomy and variants. A systematic visual approach from central to peripheral areas of the lung, the knowledge of normal anatomy and thoracic signs is mandatory in order to interpret abnormalities on chest x-ray.