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November 7, 2009
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Chest X-Ray

Medical Author: Siamak Nabili, MD, MPH
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

What is a chest X-ray?

A chest X-ray is a radiology test that involves exposing the chest briefly to radiation to produce an image of the chest and the internal organs of the chest. An X-ray film is positioned against the body opposite the camera, which sends out a very small dose of a radiation beam. As the radiation penetrates the body, it is absorbed in varying amounts by different body tissues depending on the tissue's composition of air, water, blood, bone, or muscle. Bones, for example, absorb much of the X-ray radiation while lung tissue (which is filled with mostly air) absorbs very little, allowing most of the X-ray beam to pass through the lung.

What is a shadow on a chest X-ray?

Due to the differences in their composition (and, therefore, varying degrees of penetration of the X-ray beam), the lungs, heart, aorta, and bones of the chest each can be distinctly visualized on the chest X-ray. The X-ray film records these differences to produce an image of body tissue structures and these are shadows seen on the X-ray. The white shadows on chest X-ray represent more dense or solid tissues, such as bone or heart, and the darker shadows on the chest X-ray represent air filled tissues, such as lungs.



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Chest X-ray

The stomach

The stomach is part of the digestive system. It is a hollow organ in the upper abdomen, under the ribs.

The wall of the stomach has five layers:

  • Inner layer or lining (mucosa): Juices made by glands in the inner layer help digest food. Most stomach cancers begin in this layer.
  • Submucosa: This is the support tissue for the inner layer.
  • Muscle layer: Muscles in this layer create a rippling motion that mixes and mashes food.
  • Subserosa: This is the support tissue for the outer layer.
  • Outer layer (serosa): The outer layer covers the stomach. It holds the stomach in place.

Food moves from the mouth through the esophagus to reach the stomach. In the stomach, the food becomes liquid. The liquid then moves into the small intestine, where it is digested even more.

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