Biruk Baye

@birukbaye · 09 Dec 2021

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A healthy x-ray of chest

A healthy chest x-ray is often used for detecting heart attacks, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, COPD among others. It gives clues about the severity of the condition by the number of lung fields that are seen on the x-ray.

A healthy chest can have up to 10 to 11 fields. The goal of a normal X-ray is to find out if there are any abnormalities in the lungs and some cases bones in the chest cavity.

A healthy chest x-ray would show all 13 or 14 fields in 2p views with no major shadows or rib notching which could be indicative of obstructive conditions like emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

In addition, a person should have no segmental collapse. Segmental collapse is shadowing that appears between two segments or the final roughly 2/3rds of the lungs.

Comparison to blood tests

The normal x-ray for someone in their 70s can be compared to a blood test. A blood test may look a little different if it's been taken recently, but if you keep taking a consistent blood test every few years it will probably produce some similar results to an x-ray.

This can be very useful in the elderly where there may be some changes to their body that could be affecting their results. For instance, someone who is taking a blood thinner for heart disease may have low t waves showing up on the x-ray but still have a normal blood test.

A normal generalized x-ray of the chest is used to evaluate a person's lung health and compare it to an individual's baseline. This is typically done with a moderate level of detail. A doctor or other trained examiner views the chest through an appropriate examination technique and uses this as a baseline for future comparison with more specific diagnostic tests. When one is healthy, a chest x-ray will show the lungs in their entirety, with essentially no notching of ribs.

The lateral (upper) and lateral oblique (lower) views are most commonly used in radiology. In the lateral view on the left, there is a window over the heart visible. The window is called the hilum of the heart, as it looks like a small bowl with a small indentation in its center.

The upper lobe of the lung can be viewed on this view and normally has about two to five lung fields visible. To take this view, there is usually a little stick-shaped holder called an X-ray collar that is placed around the patient's neck (or upper body). The upper lobe can be seen, but the lower lobe may not be visible. The lower lung fields are much less developed, and only about one-third of the lungs can be seen from this view.

The "anteroposterior" (top-to-bottom) view gives a good general idea for many different kinds of diseases affecting the chest that does not involve a lung disorder. It gives a good idea of how much space there is in each part of the chest below the ribs.

The five or six lung areas are easily seen on this view, and it is possible to see how much space there is in each of these areas to evaluate how ill someone may be. The heart is normally in the center of the chest cavity, and a defensive bubble of ribs keeps it wrapped up like a scarf within the chest.

The picture shows only part of the heart, but it is possible to see how much space there is between each rib on this view. The lungs were cleared out to make this view more clear.