Why do xrays work

This appears dark on the film as it is now exposed. However, bone absorbs X-ray energy and does not expose the film. This area appears light or white on the film. This is how an X-ray image is created! X-rays are primarily used in the medical and dental field. Some of the more common X-rays are done for broken bones and fractures, swallowed items, damage to bones from arthritis, and lung infections.

X-rays are also used in a CT scanner, or computed tomography. This modality uses multiple X-rays during one scan, to give a layer-by-layer image. X-rays are also being used in non-medical areas, like airport security and by NASA in outer space. Our board-certified and fellowship-trained radiologists are dedicated to improving your health and quality of life through the benefits of digital imaging, including early and accurate diagnosis of your condition.

Give us a call today at to schedule an appointment with one of our board-certified and fellowship-trained radiologists. X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to visible light. Unlike light, however, x-rays have higher energy and can pass through most objects, including the body.

Medical x-rays are used to generate images of tissues and structures inside the body. One type of x-ray detector is photographic film, but there are many other types of detectors that are used to produce digital images. The x-ray images that result from this process are called radiographs.

To create a radiograph, a patient is positioned so that the part of the body being imaged is located between an x-ray source and an x-ray detector. When the machine is turned on, x-rays travel through the body and are absorbed in different amounts by different tissues, depending on the radiological density of the tissues they pass through. For example, structures such as bone contain calcium, which has a higher atomic number than most tissues. Because of this property, bones readily absorb x-rays and, thus, produce high contrast on the x-ray detector.

As a result, bony structures appear whiter than other tissues against the black background of a radiograph. Conversely, x-rays travel more easily through less radiologically dense tissues such as fat and muscle, as well as through air-filled cavities such as the lungs. These structures are displayed in shades of gray on a radiograph. X-rays function due to the basic principles of electromagnetism and radiation. When x-rays were first discovered, the harnessing of electricity was roughly ten years old.

William Roentgen, the physicist who discovered x-rays, was originally experimenting on how electricity behaved in a vacuum. He kept the electricity in a tube for this experiment, but some of the electricity escaped the tube by passing through a metal electrode. By passing through the electrode, the electricity became a new type of radiation. Radiation is a term that technically encompasses all light , but is often used to describe Ultraviolet light and other short, potentially harmful waves.

They can't be seen by the naked eye and you can't feel them. As they pass through the body, the energy from X-rays is absorbed at different rates by different parts of the body. A detector on the other side of the body picks up the X-rays after they've passed through and turns them into an image. Dense parts of your body that X-rays find it more difficult to pass through, such as bone, show up as clear white areas on the image.

Softer parts that X-rays can pass through more easily, such as your heart and lungs, show up as darker areas. X-rays can be used to examine most areas of the body. They're mainly used to look at the bones and joints, although they're sometimes used to detect problems affecting soft tissue, such as internal organs.

X-rays can also be used to guide doctors or surgeons during certain procedures. For example, during a coronary angioplasty — a procedure to widen narrowed arteries near the heart — X-rays can be used to help guide a catheter a long, thin, flexible tube along one of your arteries.

You don't usually need to do anything special to prepare for an X-ray. You can eat and drink as normal beforehand and can continue taking your usual medications. However, you may need to stop taking certain medications and avoid eating and drinking for a few hours if you're having an X-ray that uses a contrast agent see contrast X-rays below. For all X-rays, you should let the hospital know if you're pregnant. X-rays aren't usually recommended if you're pregnant unless it's an emergency.