Physiotherapy chest x-rays
Determining pathology
When looking at chest x-rays we are aiming to identify one of 5 main pathologies / problems from a physiotherapy point of view:
- collapse
- consolidation
- pleural effusion
- pneumothorax
- pulmonary oedema.
As you get more experienced viewing chest x-rays you may pick up changes associated with chronic lung disease or other abnormalities such as tumors or lesions on the lung.
Remember the two main rules for determining pathology:
- Air is black on x-ray, everything else will appear a shade of white depending on the density.
- Think whether the structures are pushed away from or pulled towards their normal position.
