DURATION :30 MINUTES
X-rays are the oldest and most frequently used form of medical imaging. They are often used to help diagnose fractured bones, look for injury or infection and to locate foreign objects in soft tissue. X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation that sends small waves through the body, which are then absorbed in different amounts depending on the materials they pass through. Dense materials like bone or metal will show up white on x-rays, while air in your lungs would show up black. Materials like fat and muscle often appear as shades of grey.
Any image created using an X-ray is due to different X-radiation absorption by different structures or parts in the body. A dense structure, such as bone, absorbs a high percentage of the X-ray beam (which appears light grey on the image), whereas low-density structures, such as soft tissues, absorb a small percentage (which appears dark grey on the image). The body has many different structures of varying densities and this different creates a picture or image.