X-ray: Treatment, Effects & Risks

The X-ray examination or X-ray diagnostics was named after its inventor, the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. The latter discovered the rays on 08 November 1895 in the Bavarian city of Würzburg. While here in Germany we also speak of Röntgen rays, abroad they are called X-rays (X-Ray).

History of the X-ray

X-ray is a widely used imaging technique in which a part of the body is irradiated using X-rays. The result is shown on x-rays or radiographs. X-rays were the first imaging technique to show bones. Over time, X-ray equipment has continued to improve so that the current radiation dose that affects the human body during an X-ray examination is very low. Unfortunately, however, many doctors’ offices still have old equipment that should have been replaced long ago. I

n special X-ray practices, the X-ray equipment is checked every day by the staff before it can be used to produce the images. The latest equipment technology is also always used here. This is currently digital X-ray.

Application

X-ray images are primarily taken for colds such as bronchitis (X-ray of the thorax) and sinusitis (X-ray of the sinuses), but also for suspected bone fractures. Mammography images – i.e. X-ray images of the breast – are also taken with special X-ray cameras. With this examination, even the smallest tissue changes can be detected. It also shows the extent to which a possible carcinoma – i.e. a benign or malignant tumor – has already spread. Furthermore, it is possible to use contrast media in X-ray examinations. This makes it possible to visualize organs that would otherwise not be detected by X-rays. One examination method using X-ray contrast media is, for example, the gastrointestinal passage (MDP). Here, X-ray images are taken at various intervals after the contrast medium has been ingested. Through these, for example, changes and inflammations in the mucous wall of the stomach, but also in the small and large intestine, including the appendix, are visible. The X-ray examination technique is also used in combination with contrast media in phlebography – an examination that can be used if thrombosis is suspected. Here, the contrast medium is injected into a special vein, from which further transport is then to take place. If there is a constriction of the veins, the arteries or the aorta somewhere, the contrast medium cannot flow on unhindered. This becomes visible on the special X-ray images. If a thrombosis – i.e. a clot – is present, there is an immediate emergency hospitalization so that this blood clot can be dissolved with medication or by means of surgery.

Side effects and dangers

Every patient should carry an X-ray passport in which all images taken are noted. This avoids costly duplicate examinations. Because X-ray examinations emit only small doses of radiation, they are not harmful individually. However, if X-ray examinations are performed continuously, cancer can develop under certain circumstances. Particularly in the case of computer tomography, which also uses X-rays, attention should be paid to the entry in the X-ray passport. This has a much higher radiation dose than individual X-ray examinations. For example, a coronary CT, which is a computer tomography of the heart, has a radiation dose of approximately 14 millisieverts. This is 575 times the dose of a single X-ray chest exam and is about 75 percent of the annual radiation dose to which an employee at a German nuclear power plant may be exposed. Also, make sure hospital employees are following X-ray guidelines. While the X-ray camera is taking images, no employee is allowed in the exam room unless they are wearing what is called a lead apron. This is the case, for example, during contrast examinations. If an X-ray examination of the limbs or thorax is being performed, gonadal protection should be insisted upon. This prevents rays from unintentionally entering the abdomen or lower abdomen. If you take all this into account, you need not be afraid of radiation exposure during the next X-ray examination.