Clarke Christopher - Abdominal X-Rays for Medical Students

1. Chapter 01
2. Chapter 03
3. Chapter 04
4. Chapter 05
5. Chapter 07
6. Chapter 08
7. Chapter 09
8. Chapter 10
9. Chapter 11
10. Chapter 12
11. Questions
12. Answer

This book is dedicated to all teaching radiologists and their students.

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Christopher G.D. Clarke, MBChB

Radiology Registrar and Honorary Lecturer in Human Anatomy

Nottingham University Hospitals

Nottingham, UK

Anthony E.W. Dux, MB BS, FRCR

Former Consultant Radiologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer

University Hospitals of Leicester

Leicester, UK

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Clarke, Christopher, 1986 , author.
Abdominal X-rays for medical students / Christopher G.D. Clarke, Anthony E.W. Dux.
p. ;cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-60055-9 (pbk.)
I.Dux, Anthony, author.II.Title.
[DNLM:1.Radiography, AbdominalmethodsAtlases.2.AbdomenpathologyAtlases. 3.Digestive System DiseasesradiographyAtlases. WI 17]
RC944
617.5507572dc23

2014047517

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Cover images: Radiographs showing calcification in the wall of the abdominal aorta; fetus in situ; dilated small bowel; gas-filled distended stomach; toxic megacolon; various ingested foreign objects. Illustrations by Christopher Clarke.

The abdominal radiograph is commonly encountered within the hospital setting, and often junior doctors are the first to review and act upon the radiograph findings. Medical students therefore need to learn how to interpret basic signs and pathology on an abdominal radiograph.

This book is a follow-up to Chest X-rays for Medical Students, which Anthony and I wrote a few years ago to help medical students with chest radiographs. Since publishing the chest X-ray book, I have entered clinical radiology training at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and passed fellowship exams. Anthony has retired, returning a few days a week to continue reporting and teaching. This book has taken approximately 12 months to write and much longer to collect all the radiographs featured within.

The most novel and exciting aspect of Abdominal X-rays for Medical Students is the way colour overlays are used to highlight the anatomy and pathology. This way of marking the radiographs separates this book from others and makes it easy to appreciate the sign or pathology of interest. Generally, two radiographs are displayed side by side with the radiograph on the right marked out in colour and the radiograph on the left unmarked for comparison. This makes it easy to compare and identify the abnormality on the unmarked radiograph. Some signs and pathologies are difficult to appreciate, and I experimented with different enhancement techniques until I found one that worked. The result of this was that I have ended up using a range of different techniques to show or enhance pathology in this book.

This book is not intended to be used as an encyclopaedic reference but as a colourful and informative teaching aid to help medical students, junior doctors, radiographers and nurses learn the basics of abdominal X-ray interpretation in a simplified, logical and systematic way. We try to avoid confusing terms and fully explain any commonly used radiographic signs such as thumbprinting or Riglers sign.

I hope that by the end of this book, you should have a system to use for analysing and presenting abdominal radiographs and know how to recognise the important common pathologies on an abdominal X-ray.