A chest X-ray is a safe, low-cost imaging study that provides information about the heart, lungs, and bones. It is often used to evaluate symptoms and trauma, and can support the diagnosis of various conditions such as pneumonia, asthma, and heart disease.
A chest x-ray (CXR), also known as a chest x-ray, is an imaging study that provides a significant amount of information to doctors and other health care professionals. It is often one of the first studies obtained when evaluating a variety of symptoms, as it is a safe, rapid and low-cost study. Chest X-rays can be used to evaluate the heart, lungs, and bones. It is often performed in the context of acute trauma to rule out a number of life-threatening conditions.
To understand the purpose of a chest X-ray, it helps to know what this imaging study evaluates. An X-ray machine provides a two-dimensional image of the internal structures of the body. When aimed at the chest, the X-ray image shows the lungs, heart, rib cage, sternum, diaphragm and spine. Many times two images are taken, one from a front perspective and one from a side perspective. Having images from two points of view allows people interpreting the study to reconstruct a three-dimensional image in their minds.
An important purpose of the chest x-ray is to examine the lungs. One of the first steps in evaluating a patient with symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, or wheezing is to take a chest X-ray. This provides information about how the lungs are inflating, whether there is abnormal material inside the lungs, and whether fluid has collected around the lungs. Study information can support the diagnosis of pneumonia, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The chest X-ray can also evaluate the heart. Patients with symptoms such as sudden chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath during activity, and the inability to lie down due to shortness of breath often undergo this imaging test. Radiologists can examine the edges of the heart to see if any of the heart chambers are enlarged. They can also evaluate whether the overall size of the heart has increased, which can signify the presence of a range of heart diseases.
Bone is another anatomical structure that can be evaluated with chest X-rays. Features of the ribs, spine, and sternum can be identified in this imaging study. The types of abnormal findings can include linear fractures, compression fractures, and osteoporosis, which is a condition characterized by having thin and weak bones.
Another important application of chest x-ray is to evaluate patients who have experienced trauma, as they can have a number of dangerous complications. For example, the force of the trauma may have torn the aorta, the blood vessel that carries the heart. This can be a life-threatening situation because massive blood loss could send the patient into shock. Occasionally, trauma can cause a lung to collapse, which can be dangerous because the blood may not be able to pick up enough oxygen to supply the rest of the body. Both of these conditions can typically be identified on CXR.
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