What does a chest radiograph test?

After a woman becomes pregnant, in addition to her belly becoming bigger, her breasts will also gradually increase in size due to the secretion of milk. Sometimes the breasts may also feel swollen and painful, which is normal. Many expectant mothers will have lumps in their breasts. There are generally two situations: one is normal breast tissue, and the other is breast hyperplasia. If it is not necessary, it is best not to do chest X-ray examination casually, as it will affect the fetus. The following article introduces relevant knowledge, let’s take a look.

Chest X-ray: Check the condition of the heart, cardiovascular system, lungs, etc., and detect certain heart and lung diseases.

Precautions

1. Patients with newly diagnosed chest diseases should undergo routine chest examinations in the anteroposterior and lateral positions (except for young children and patients with limited mobility who need to be radiographed in the supine position).

Ordinary X-rays are composite superimposed images of the tissues and organs of the examined parts. The frontal chest X-ray can only show 2/3 of the lung tissue, and 1/3 of the lung tissue is blocked by the hilum, mediastinum, heart, and diaphragm. The lateral chest X-ray is an effective supplement to the frontal chest X-ray, and is of great significance in the positioning and qualitative diagnosis of lesions found in the frontal position. Therefore, in order to avoid misdiagnosis of chest lesions, patients undergoing chest examination should routinely have their chest examined in anteroposterior and lateral positions.

2. X-ray examination application form, please describe in detail the relevant medical history, clinical symptoms, etc. Patients who are undergoing reexamination, please be sure to bring old films (old films for inpatients will be returned along with the results).

3. Bedside X-ray examination is only applicable to chest and small joint examination of limbs. If bedside X-ray examination is required, please cooperate with the protective measures for other patients (clear other patients in the same ward or provide an empty room for examination).

4. Patients who need angiography examination need to make an appointment for the examination and be informed of precautions before the examination.

The dangers of chest X-rays

Chest X-ray is currently used as a first-line examination method in major hospitals because of its convenient examination process, relatively low price, and ability to provide preliminary screening for chest lesions. The radiation dose used in chest X-rays has little harm to the human body and is roughly equivalent to the effect of smoking two cigarettes. In other respects there is no harm. However, X-rays always involve radiation, so frequent examinations are not recommended. In addition, pregnant women, especially those in the early stages of pregnancy, should never undergo this examination because the radiation may change the genes of the fetus, resulting in adverse consequences.