X rays have been useful in identifying internal physical abnormalities.
Medical professionals rely on X rays to spot the root causes of symptoms such as pain and swelling. As the Mayo Clinic website points out, doctors can find many fractures, infections and tumors by taking such pictures and examining them closely. With other aids such as barium enemas and injectable contrast materials such as iodine, X ray pictures can show up clearly, helping doctors diagnose disorders and to save lives.
Barium
According to the X Ray Schools website, medical professionals use barium X rays to examine the esophagus, stomach, and the duodenum. They use barium as a contrast agent, to coat the walls of the upper digestive system. This will aid doctors to more clearly be able to see any tumors, ulcers, hernias or other abnormalities which might lead to symptoms, such as difficulty in swallowing, that can be a sign of a deadly malignancy such as stomach cancer.
Bone Density
A bone density test, or bone density scan, is another type of X ray doctors use in examining a patient's bones. According to the X Ray Schools website, the goal of doctors is to measure how many grams of calcium and other vital minerals are present in a certain part of the bone. In so doing, the examining physician can tell whether the patient has osteoporosis. As the website points out, doctors usually use the spine and the lower hips as points of examination for bone density scans.
Fluoroscopy
Doctors use fluoroscopies to study the movement of an organ or an object within the body. Fluoroscopies are X ray movies that help doctors study how certain medical instruments such as syringes, or contrast agents such as barium, are working inside the body. Physicians can use this procedure to find objects in the body that children have swallowed, such as coins or toy parts.
Dental X-Rays
There are two main types of X-rays that dentists use: intraoral and extraoral radiographs. According to the Colgate website, intraoral radiographs study the inside of a patient's mouth, examining the roots of a tooth in order to locate the existence of decay, or the progression of periodontal diseases. The extraoral X-rays are called the big picture radiographs. As the Colgate website says, although they do show a patient's teeth, their main focus is the jaws. They help dentists study how the jaws work together, and they aid in looking for abnormalities in that area. They may help dental professionals pinpoint the causes of difficulties in opening and closing the mouth.
Tags: bone density, According Schools, According Schools website, Colgate website, points doctors, Schools website
