RT Book, Section
A1 Malone, Terry R.
A1 Hazle, Charles
A1 Grey, Michael L.
SR Print(0)
ID 5940229
T1 Chapter 12. A Primer of "Reading" an Image
T2 Imaging in Rehabilitation
YR 2008
FD 2008
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-154946-2
LK accessphysiotherapy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=5940229
RD 2024/04/20
AB One  of  the  challenges  for  becoming  comfortable  with  radiology  is  the  expected  or  norm  for  reading  and,  thus,  interpreting  a  "plain  film,"  whether  hard  copy  or  digital.  Importantly,  in  this  text  we  have  used  the  term  radiograph  to  describe  what  has  traditionally  been  referred  to  as  a  plain  film  (single  plane—plain  radiographic  image)—today  this  is  more  typically  a  digital  form  but  representing  the  previous  image.  By  convention,  the  film  is  placed  on  a  view  box  or  the  digital  image  is  oriented  on  the  monitor  as  if  the  person  were  in  the  anatomic  position  (facing  toward  the  reader).  This  allows  the  reader  to  have  a  relatively  constant  orientation  providing  an  expected  presentation  and  enhancing  the  ability  to  perceive  the  alteration  from  the  norm  to  be  more  obvious.  Shadows,  image  magnifications/distortions  (size/shape:  elongation  or  foreshortening  related  to  beam  orientation  and  position  of  bone  and  distances  to  film),  and  overlapping  structures  thus  are  seen  in  their  expected  positions  and  the  observer  is  able  to  concentrate  on  seeing  the  abnormal.