X-ray examination

The chest X-ray is the commonest diagnostic X-ray examination. Normally a frontal (anteroposterior) view is obtained. The patient stands facing the photographic plate with the chest pressed to the plate, with hands on hips and elbows pushed out in front. The radiographer, the technician who takes the X-ray, asks the patient not to move, then to breathe in deeply and not to breathe out. This makes a blurred, unclear X-ray image less likely and improves the quality of the image, as it is easier to see abnormalities in air-filled (inflated) lungs than in deflated lungs.

For a side, or lateral view, the patient is asked to stand sideways to the photographic plate with arms raised. A chest X-ray may be repeated at intervals to track for any changes. These repeated examinations are called serial chest X-rays.