Ukot Basic Radiology: Foundations and Professional Practice

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 979-8-89881-201-0
Verlag: Bentham Science Publishers
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 260 Seiten

Basic Radiology: Foundations and Professional Practice covers core anatomical imaging techniques, and key pathologies across all major systems providing a clear and practical introduction to radiology for students and healthcare professionals.This book combines clarity, structured learning, and clinical relevance. Each chapter introduces essential imaging concepts and illustrates them with classic radiological signs, from fractures and dislocations to hallmark appearances in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and reproductive imaging.
The book demystifies complex topics such as CT, MRI, ultrasonography, and digital radiography with step-by-step format and rich visual references. It equips readers with foundational knowledge to interpret normal and abnormal findings and to apply radiological principles confidently in clinical settings.
Key Features
Introduces the fundamentals of radiology and specialized imaging techniques.
Illustrates normal anatomy and common pathologies across all major body systems.
Highlights hallmark radiological signs with clear examples and images.
Guides readers through practical applications of CT, MRI, ultrasonography, and digital radiography.
Supports learning with structured chapters, multiple-choice questions, and concise explanations.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ukot, Inyang

Leseproben

Introduction to Radiology Foundations

Inyang Ukot

1 RST Clinics Ltd., Federal Housing Estate, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

Without the need for a search for pathology in the human body, there would be no necessity for investigations. Investigations really commence when a doctor or a medical student listens to and asks their patients questions. Thereafter, they examine the patients and determine the appropriate investigations by “external” professionals. Though medical care is a team effort, this author sees investigations as “third party” in the sense that they are outside the immediate relationship between the patient and the physician. These investigations may involve pathologists (and they are various) or medical imaging professionals (there are a myriad of them too). In this book, reference is given to the specialty of radiology and the medical imaging specialists.

Keywords: Computed tomography scan, CT scan, Magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, Radiography, Radiographs, Radiology, Ultrasonography, Ultrasound, X-rays.

INTRODUCTION

The history of radiology is inextricably tied to Wilhelm Roentgen, who discovered X-rays in 1895 [1]. The initial and subsequent years were years of gaining further understanding of the utility of this investigation modality and the dangers associated with its use; these led to progressive positive changes that made radiography safer. It took an additional seventy-five years for computed tomography (CT) scanning to be introduced. This write-up is not about this and the latter means of medical imaging, but only about radiography and radiographs. Radiographic images have metamorphosed from images in physical form to electronic images that are transmitted online and are shareable in real-time when required. The equipment is more robust, more precise, and more user-friendly, and patient-friendly, and produces images virtually effortlessly.

Digital radiography involves a direct screen display of the radiographic image generated by the machine’s image detector and sent to the screen. Digital radiography may be direct or indirect [2]. Computed radiography requires the use of cassettes, but direct and indirect digital radiography do not require cassettes [2].

The summary is that while the original analog radiographs (in conventional radiography) required chemical processing and physical X-ray films, in digital radiography, a radiation source creates an image, and a sensor captures the image, which specialized software converts into a two-dimensional image that is not only displayed but may also be adjusted by enhancement [3]. The images are stored on a server, and any patient’s information can be accessed when the patient is available for consultation, in the emergency room, operation room, or wards; the radiographic images can be recalled anytime the patient returns for a follow-up consultation and may be shared with colleagues and used for teaching [3].

Fig. (1))
An X-ray machine and the patient’s cubicle.

Radiographic Images

X-ray images are very important in helping the medical student or doctor to make or confirm a diagnosis. Starting with radiographic images, for radiological investigations to be useful, they must be relevant, timely, and the views ordered must be correct. Radiological and, indeed, other diagnostic aids should not be ordered “routinely,” and neither should they take the place of the clinical acumen of the doctor. It is not every case of the abdominal or chest problem that requires investigation with X-rays. It remains a part of the training of a medical student in the clinical years and practice for every doctor to take a good history, examine the patient, and attempt to come to a diagnosis. If case of a medical student, it is necessary to develop an interest in and a habit of participating in requesting investigations (including radiological) that would assist in confirming or ruling out the tentative diagnosis under the guidance of the consultant. Whether a medical student or a practicing doctor, the history and clinical examination may, for example, point towards a fracture, congestive cardiac failure, spondylosis, or other forms of arthritis – in such cases, requesting X-ray images is justified, and the request should be made.

The quality of the radiographic image should be good if the machines are modern and well-maintained, but this is not always the case in resource-poor settings. The images in this section are generally of good quality, and they should help a medical student or an inexperienced physician grasp the features that enable one to make a diagnosis with relative ease.

Fig. (1) shows the machine and cubicle while Fig. (2) shows the radiography machine with its table. The patient is on the table preparatory to the radiographer carrying out the final part of the investigation procedure. Following the patient’s complaint of a month-long unrelenting right-sided lower backache extending to the right loin with the pain getting aggravated by sitting and relieved by standing, the doctor requested lumbo-sacral radiographs (antero-posterior and lateral views) for this patient, apart from an abdomino-pelvic ultrasound scan, which showed no renal abnormality. The procedure consisted of the following:

• The radiographer received the request form from the requesting physician and confirmed the investigation to be carried out.
• The receptionist directed the index patient to the X-ray room.
• The radiographer confirmed the identity of the patient and welcomed the patient to the room.
• The radiographer directed the patient to the changing cubicle within the X-ray room with instructions on what the patient should do.
• The patient removed all clothes, shoes, wrist watch, and dropped the phones and metallic objects like cuff links and belt that had a metallic portion, and kept them in the cubicle, then donned the open-back gown/cloth apron.
• The radiographer assisted the patient to sit on the equipment’s table, lie down supine, and shift the body as directed.
• The radiographer also adjusted the overhead piece of equipment to achieve a desired view of the lumbo-sacral area.
• The radiographer returned to the adjoining room that houses the controls, permits satisfactory vision of the patient on the table, and took the X-ray – Antero-posterior view.
• The radiographer returned and assisted the patient to be in the left lateral position (a slightly uncomfortable position for the patient, considering the hard surface of the table).
• The radiographer returned to the controls and took the second X-ray; this time, the lateral view of the lumbo-sacral spine.
• The radiographer gave the patient adequate time to remove the unit’s apron, wear their clothing and footwear, and take custody of all items dropped in the cubicle prior to the radiographer performing the procedure.
• The unit’s receptionist provided the patient with a compact disc containing the electronic image of the radiograph when the patient exited the X-ray room.
• The patient consulted the doctor about the diagnosis after the procedure.

Fig. (2))
A digital radiography machine.

In hospitals that have radiologists who interpret radiographs, there is a strong temptation for doctors who are not radiologists to simply pick up the physical or electronic reports, document, and use them to further the management of their patients. It is not, however, every time that a doctor has this luxury. It is important to understand the basics or principles of interpreting simple or the more common X-ray images. Practicing reading radiographs does not transform a doctor into a radiologist, but it is satisfying to know that, as a non-radiologist, they do not miss, on a radiograph, what ought not be missed.

The X-ray images in this book do not cover all the common clinical conditions that doctors encounter, but the principles can be confidently applied to other X-ray investigation results to a reasonable extent. Some of the radiographs are more than one; the ones that are in obvious series and not just views are inserted to show stage-by-stage what happens during the radiological study, like hysterosalpingography and intravenous pyelography. In the following chapters, where appropriate and possible, an effort has been made to show normal radiographs before presenting the ones with abnormalities. For the normal radiographs, the author has attempted to relate parts of the images to normal anatomical structures; the purpose is to assist the reader to apply the principles of anatomy to radiographs, including those that are not demonstrated in this book but similar to the ones that they do, or will, encounter in their practices.

An effort has also been made to present the comments on the images in simple, though professional, terms. The author reasserts that he is not a radiologist, and the book is not written for specialists but for medical students, non-radiologist physicians, and other healthcare practitioners...