CC 2 - Thoracic Anatomy (Radiologic Review of the Chest) Flashcards
Indicate what portions of the heart appear on the X-ray.
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/194/629/q_image_thumb.png?1480621061)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/194/629/a_image_thumb.png?1480621070)
What color does soft tissue (e.g. fat, muscle) appear like on an X-ray?
Grey
What appears black on an X-ray?
Air
Can tissues of the same density be distinguished on an X-ray? Example?
NOPE
Liver and spleen
Mark the structures that can be seen on the X-ray.
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/194/890/q_image_thumb.png?1480621470)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/194/890/a_image_thumb.png?1480621481)
What do the white lines in the lungs correspond to?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/195/081/q_image_thumb.png?1480621508)
Blood vessels
What are the sharp angles on either side of the chest inferiorly on the X-ray? What does it mean when these angles are blunted?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/195/139/q_image_thumb.png?1480621565)
Where the diaphragm meets the chest wall
Blunted angles could be indicative of pleural effusion or other fluids in the thorax
What does the gastric bubble correspond to on a chest X-ray?
Pocket of air in the stomach just underneath the diaphragm
Why are PA X-rays preferred to AP? Issue though?
- With the patient holding the plate in front of them, they roll their shoulders forward, getting the scapulae out of the way of the X-ray
- Puts heart closest to the plate so that it does NOT appear larger because the X-rays diverge as they come out (you want a better representation of the organ)
Issue: a lot of patients are bed ridden, so we need to use AP shot by putting a plate below the bed
How to describe subject placement in radiography?
First the side receiving the rays first
Then the side next to the film
What are the 2 types of X-ray positioning?
- AP = anterior posterior
- PA = posterior anterior
What is the preferred lateral chest X-ray? Why?
Right lateral chest X-ray so the heart is closest to the plate
Mark the structures that can be seen on the X-ray.
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/196/691/q_image_thumb.png?1480622325)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/196/691/a_image_thumb.png?1480622333)
On the RL chest X-ray, why is the area toward top of spine white and then it gets darker?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/brainscape-prod/system/cm/202/196/862/q_image_thumb.png?1480622502)
Latissimus dorsi are responsible for the white and then there is less and less muscle
How to tell which is the right and left diaphragm on a RL chest X-ray? Which one is higher more often than not?
- Right diaphragm will extend from the back all the way to the front of the chest
- Left diaphragm will extend from the back and will disappear before reaching the front of the chest because the soft tissue heart above it makes the outline dissipate
Right diaphragm is OFTEN higher because the heart pushes down on the left (according to radiologists) or because the liver pushes up on the right (according to anatomists)
What is the carina of the trachea?
Ridge of cartilage in the trachea that occurs between the division of the two main bronchi