You are a radiologist for ISWA Medical Center and it is a busy day!
Patients are waiting for you to view their x-rays. Analyze each patient x-ray and answer the questions connected to the image. Remember, interpreting x-rays is not simple and you will only get better with practice, so don’t get frustrated!
Use the following steps when analyzing x-rays:
1. Where am I? Start by identifying the part of the skeleton you are viewing and the bones involved.
2. Compare it to the normal or opposite side. If you are unfamiliar with normal skeletal anatomy, use normal x-rays for comparison. A normal x-ray has been provided for each patient as comparison. Remember that every individual is different, so x-rays of the same area from two different people will not look identical.
3. Is everything aligned? Look at the joints. A dislocation will be obvious, but often a fractured bone will cause the joint to be misaligned. Check to see if the joint is uneven, narrowed, or widened.
4. Check the outer cortex. Systematically look over the whiter outer cortex (edges) of each bone. Is there an obvious misalignment of the outer cortex, slightly darker areas, a difference in bone texture, or portions of the bone missing? Even if a fracture is present in the inner medulla, it will normally start at the outer cortex.
