Introduction to Radiology and Imaging Anatomy Flashcards
X-ray mechanism
X-ray photons interact with tissue and are either attenuated or pass through tissue
X-rays have the ability to____
penetrate tissue
Types of attentuation
Absorption
Scatter
What changes the appearance of radiograph
Direction and orientation of the object imaged
Radiography machine made of
Detector and X-ray source
No penetration of x-ray
Radiopaque (white)
Complete penetration of x-ray
Radiolucent (black)
Degree of x-ray penetration depends on
Atomic Number
Thickness
Higher atomic number means
More radiopaque, whiter, more absorption
Thicker means
More radiopaque, whiter, more absorption
What can x-ray not distinguish between
Water and soft tissue
Radiography as a function of composition (radiopaque to radiolucent)
Metal, bone, soft tissue/water, fat, gas
X-ray contrast agents and how they change
Iodine or barium
Attenuate the x-ray beam
Appear very radiopaque
Barium (x-ray)
Only for enteric use
Iodine (x-ray)
For enteric or vascular use
Enteric contrast agents administered either
Oral or rectally
Intravascular contrast agents (x-ray)
Iodine only
Venous or arterial
Lipohemarthrosis
Joint effusion containing fat and blood/fluid
Fat gloats to the top because it is less dense
Radiographic views of x-ray
Frontal (anteroposterior or posteroanterior)
Lateral
Orientation of X-ray
As if you are looking straight at the patients face
Way that lateral chest x-ray named
Side that is against the detector
Ex. left lateral
Do you need more than one view with x-ray?
Yes
Orthogonal views
Views at 90 degrees of each other
What kind of image does CT give?
Axial slice through body
Advantages of CT over radiography
CT eliminates superimposition of structures outside area of interest
CT has high-contrast so can better differentiate things like water and soft tissue
Data can be viewed in axial, coronal, or sagittal planes (multiplanar)
CT uses _________
ionizing radiation