![]() ![]() X-Ray can only suggest or indicate what disease the person may be having but cannot tell the exact diagnosis. This means that even if the chest X-Ray is abnormal, it is hard to pin point the abnormality with 100% certainty. Collapse : closure of a part of or complete lung due to either blockage of the wind pipe preventing airflow to the affected part of the lung, or pushing effect from the fluid collection within the space between the lining of the lung and the chest wall.Cavity : a gas filled round space which appears darker than the surrounding lung.Fibrosis : an area of scarring of the lung causing shrinkage of the affected part of the lung.It often contains pockets of air within due to which it does not look as densely white as a mass. Consolidation : a white spot that is caused by bacterial or viral infection.Mass : a dense white spot that greater than 3 centimetre in diameter.It could be caused cancerous, Tuberculosis, pneumonia, fungal infection, or a scar from along infection in the past. Nodule : a white spot less than or equal to 3 centimetre in diameter.The abnormalities of the lungs that are visible on the chest X-Ray are described in a non specific manner as follows: ![]() Anything smaller can be missed on the X-Ray.Īir looks black on the chest X-Ray and the body parts or abnormalities look white. Even the abnormalities of lungs that are visible need to be larger than 1 centimetre in diameter to become visible on the chest X-Ray. The abnormalities of the wind pipes, and blood vessels (arteries) of the lungs are not usually visible on the chest X-Ray. Out of these structures, the chest X-Ray is only good at showing the abnormalities that affect the lungs themselves or the space between the outer lining of the lungs and the chest wall. The chest contains our airways or wind pipes which are the hollow tube that act as a passage for the air to flow into our lungs during breathing, lungs themselves, blood vessels of the lungs, and the space between the outer lining of the lungs and the chest wall. This phenomenon is known as air bronchogram and it is a characteristic sign of consolidation.If you are told that your X-Ray is abnormal, it can mean a few things. If the larger airways are spared, they are of relatively low density (blacker). If an area of lung is consolidated it becomes dense and white. They all look similar and clinical information will often help you decide the diagnosis. It is important to be aware that consolidation does not always mean there is infection, and the small airways may fill with material other than pus (as in pneumonia), such as fluid (pulmonary oedema), blood (pulmonary haemorrhage), or cells (cancer). If the alveoli and small airways fill with dense material, the lung is said to be consolidated. If there is an area that is different from the surrounding ipsilateral lung, then this is likely to be the abnormal area. Once you have spotted asymmetry, the next step is to decide which side is abnormal. Asymmetry of lung density is represented as either abnormal whiteness (increased density), or abnormal blackness (decreased density). Remember many lung diseases are bilateral and symmetricalĪssess the lungs by comparing the upper, middle and lower lung zones on the left and right.The whiter side is not always the abnormal side.Compare an area of abnormality with the rest of the lung on the same side.Compare the left and right upper, middle and lower lung zones. ![]()
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