I have never got injured in a way where I have to take an X-ray all my life. But for those who have accidents, an X-ray is one of the first procedures to check if any bones are broken or not.
An X-ray is always associated with a fracture and most of us still look at an x-ray and try to find a fracture in that.
There is more to x-ray other than just facture. Let us learn what is an x-ray and how and why of it.
What is an x-ray?
X-ray is an electromagnetic wave of high energy and a very short wavelength that can pass through any object or material even if it is opaque to a light nature. But to know what it means in medical terms; x-rays are images of the internal composition of a body part produced by passing the x-ray through it and x-ray being absorbed by the different parts in different degrees to show them on the image.
Wikipedia says “An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz (30×1015 Hz to 30×1018 Hz) and energies in the range 145eV to 124 keV. X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays.”
On 8, November 1895 a German physics professor called Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen discovered and published about the x-ray, and later he received the Nobel prize in physics for the same.
How does X-ray work?
The radiological density of the materials being scanned is determined by their density as well as their atomic number (the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom). For example, bones absorb x-ray fast as they have calcium, which has a higher atomic number than tissues. Due to that, the bone appears white in the image and for the same reason, tissues and fluids appear darker. The whole process is not a painful process.
On the other hand, the things that the x-ray cannot detect or not clearly see are muscles and ligaments are not seen clearly, and nor does subtle bone injuries, and soft tissue injuries. Either Inflammation or mass shows up on the x-ray.
Why is an x-ray done?
To inspect nearly every part of the body x-ray can be used. It is mainly and mostly used for bones and joints examination like fractures but x-ray can be used to detect abnormalities affecting internal organs and tissues too.
The condition that can be detected with the use of an x-ray is as follows
A radiograph is created by positioning a patient in such a way that the area of the body being scanned is between an x-ray source and an x-ray detector. When the equipment is activated, x-rays move through the body and are absorbed in variable amounts by different tissues, depending on their radiological density.
1. Facture or breaking of bones
2. Dental x-ray to check the status of the problematic teeth or tooths or any dental-related condition.
3. Abnormal curving of the spine which is also called scoliosis which mostly diagnosed in adulthood. The sad part about this condition is that it can’t be cured.
4. Malignant or non-malignant bone, though it’s rare cancer in different age groups, different types of bone cancer can be affected like osteosarcoma generally which affects children and young adults up to 20 years of age, Ewing sarcoma effect between the age group of 10 to 20, and chondrosarcoma which affects adults after the age of 40 years.
5. lung diseases like lung cancer or pneumonia. Lung cancer usually doesn’t have many symptoms, but breathlessness and coughing blood are some of them. Either it will be non-small cell lung cancer in which squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma, or small cell lung cancer.
6. Swallowing problem or dysphagia were swallowing food becomes a problem.
7. Heart problems like heart failure which means the heart finds it difficult to pump blood in the body. This happens because the heart becomes stiff or weak.
8. Breast Cancer is one of the leading cancers in females. Mostly the lump found in the breast is non-malignant with only early detection it can be found.
How many types of x-rays are there?
As different body parts can be x-rayed, there are many types of x-rays too. They are as follows-
Abdominal X-ray
Abdominal x-ray is also called KUB x-ray wherein KUB means, kidney, ureters, and bladder. Your physician might order an abdominal x-ray when there is continuous vomiting, swelling of the stomach, significant nausea, and abdominal pain. Some of the following conditions can be diagnosed with the assistance of an abdominal x-ray like an abdominal aortic aneurysm or AAA in which aortic which is the largest blood vessel in the body, the walls of the aorta can swell if they are weak and if it ruptures it will cause the problem.
Pancreatitis is another condition where inflammation of the pancreas happens. Appendicitis is one of the common conditions in the abdomen with pain attached to it. The appendix becomes inflamed because of blockage.
Atheroembolic renal disease different organs get affected due to one cause or etiology – the dislodging of arterial cholesterol plaque via distal embolization, resulting in ischemia or infarction of the implicated end organ. This also causes Kidney problems.
Ureteral injury rarely happens in gynecologic surgery but is a serious one if gone undetected. This might lead to potential loss of kidneys too.
Chest x-ray
A chest x-ray is of the chest along with lungs, heart, large arteries, ribs, and diaphragm. The test is performed when there is a persistent cough, chest pain from a heart problem, or any injury, coughing of blood, fever, and difficulty in breathing. The test results might show in case of the lung – collapsed lung or fluid in the lungs, lung tumor, tuberculosis, pneumonia. In case of heart size and shape of heart or evidence of heart failure, and the case of bones, fractures, or osteoporosis.
Dental x-ray
In dental x-ray images of teeth and mouth are done to identify the number and position of teeth, teeth that do not come out of gums, tooth decay, broken or fractured jaw, or any problems in any of the teeth of any kind. With those images, dentists can make the right diagnosis to do the correct treatment.
Extremity x-ray
Extremity means limbs like hands, arms, feet, legs, thighs, ankles, hips, joints, and shoulders. The reason can be a fracture, tumor, arthritis, any foreign object lodged inside, and bone disease. The result will also show any of these mentioned causes and a proper diagnosis can be made for further treatment.
Spine x-ray
Spine x-ray can be divided into five parts they are cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (chest and middle area), lumbar spine (lower back area), sacral spine (base of the spine), and coccyx (tail bone). The reason for an x-ray can be from a broken bone, spine disk problem, tumors, scoliosis, or any infection or problem of the spine when born.
Upper GI, Barium, and small bowel x-ray
In this set of x-rays, the images show the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine which includes the colon and rectum. These x-rays are done to check the structure and function of the part mentioned above and if they are not structured or functioning properly then you have problems like esophageal cancer or ulcers, gastric cancer or ulcers, tumor or swelling in the intestine, and colon cancer or Crohn disease.
Pelvis x-ray
In the case of pelvis x-ray, the image is of the hip area which connects the leg to the upper body. An X-ray is performed due to a tumor, fracture, or degenerative condition of the bones in the hips, pelvis, or upper leg. The result might show Pelvic fracture, arthritis, tumor in bones,
skull x-ray
In the skull, x-ray images are of the skull along with the facial bones, the nose, and sinuses. Mainly the skull x-ray happens when an accident happens and there are chances that there might be a fracture or penetration of a foreign object. Apart from that, the x-ray might be ordered due to tumor or bleeding of the skull, ear infection, or abnormal growth in the ear which might cause hearing loss, and sinuses infection.
How to read an x-ray.
X-ray gives a 2D image of the body or the part of the body which is scanned. In that sense to get a better understanding sometimes it is necessary to have multiple images too. X-rays are absorbed by different parts of the body in different proportions and that shows in the image we get.
High-density parts like bones absorb x-ray at a greater degree and appear clearer or in a whiter shade or a very light grey shade. Intermediate density parts like muscles and fats absorb less than bones and appear darker than the bones. Low-density parts like the lungs absorb less and appear dark or appear blacker.
In a very simplified the kind of things shown in the x-ray are, the air is black, soft tissues are grey, fluids are a lighter grey, Bones are even lighter grey than fluids and metals are white.
What is the side effect of X-ray?
The major side effect is exposure to a very low level of radiation. From nature, we all are getting exposed to some radiation and if we convert that value to the radiation, we receive from an x-ray then a chest x-ray is equivalent to 2.4 days of natural exposure to radiation, a skull x-ray is 12 days of natural exposure to radiation.
It is believed that the said exposure does not cause immediate health problems. But on the other hand, the benefit of the procedure is that it is a non-invasive procedure, that helps medical professionals with inserting the catheters, stents, and other medical devices along with the treatment of tumors, blockages, or clots.
Conclusion
X-ray has been since 1895 and helped diagnose many cases and elevated medical problems of many patients. Yes, there is a small amount of radiation associated with the procedure but we are exposed to radiation without that also and very fewer people had the serious side effect of the same.
The benefit has outweighed the side effect. Even with the risk or the side effect associated with it, the x-ray was in the business of medical diagnostic procedures and they will also be there in the future. X-rays are faster to get done, and cheap and they give excellent results in case of bone against less radiation exposure.
The future of x-ray has great prospects with the launch of robotic x-ray room technology in 2015 and later 3D color x-ray by CERN. In time the level of radiation will also go down and it will also give a clearer image of tissues too currently which is a limitation. All in all, the future of x-ray is bright and will provide great assistance to medical diagnoses.
What are the two types of x-rays?
The two types of x-rays are characteristic radiation and bremsstrahlung radiation. Characteristic radiation is an energized atom’s electronic transition that produces distinctive radiation. Excitation is the removal of an electron from an inner shell. It requires energy, which rapid electrons may provide (as it occurs in the x-ray tube or in a scanning electron microscope).
Bremsstrahlung radiation is the electromagnetic radiation produced by the slowing of a charged particle when it is deflected by another charged particle, often an electron by an atomic nucleus
Why is it called X-ray?
A German physics professor called Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen discovered and published about the x-ray and he called is x-ray because he didn’t know what it was.
Can x-ray detect plastic?
X-rays cannot detect low-density plastic. In case of plastic contamination of food, with the assistance of a Material Discrimination X-ray (MDX) dual-energy technology via chemical composition plastic can be detected.
