ABC of Reading Chest X-Ray

A B H F

G C D E

A Airway (midline, patent) B Bones (eg, fractures, lytic lesions) C Cardiac silhouette size D Diaphragm (eg, flat or elevated hemidiaphragm) E F Edges (borders) of the heart (to rule out lingular and left middle lobe pneumonia or infiltrates) Fields (lung fields well inflated; no effusions, infiltrates, or nodules noted)

G Gastric bubble (present, obscured, absent) H Hilum (nodes, masses) I Instrumentation (eg, lines, tubes)

Jeffrey M. Edmondson, MD Harker Heights, Texas Published by: Mohammad Al-Marhoon (dr.marhoon@gmail.com) WWW.SMSO.NET