X-Ray

An X-ray exam passes small amounts of radiation through the body to create films of your internal organs or bones.

X-rays can also be used to locate metallic objects that have been swallowed or that have punctured the tissues.

• Abdominal
• Upper and lower gastro-intestinal (GI)
• Upper and lower extremities
• Chest
• Urinary tract

Upper and lower GI X-rays screen for ulcers, gastritis, hiatal hernia, cancer, polyps, and bowel obstruction. Follow your doctor's instructions for abstaining from eating and drinking before the exam. You will drink a liquid barium mixture to make your organs show up on the X-ray film. Be sure to inform your doctor and the X-ray technologist if you are (or could be) pregnant.

X-rays of the upper and lower extremities are used look for fractures, changes caused by arthritis, dislocation, tumors, abnormal structure and density, and osteoporosis.

A chest X-ray provides your doctor with a great deal of information to help him plan your treatment. It can detect injury to the organs in the chest, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, congestive heart failure, emphysema, enlarged heart, and lung tumors.

Intravenous Pyelogram (IVP) is a specialized X-ray designed to take a close look at your urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, and bladder) using the intravenous injection of a medication called a "contrast medium" that allows the soft tissues to register on the X-ray film.

Follow your doctor's instructions about liquid intake and diet to prepare for the test. The contrast medium may make you feel warm and flushed and create a metallic taste in your mouth. This is normal. You should, however, let the technologist

know if you begin to itch, feel short of breath, or become uncomfortable, since a small percentage of patients have a reaction to the medication.

Be sure to let your doctor and the X-ray technologist know if you are (or could be) pregnant.

Diagnostic Imaging - X-Ray
2nd Floor Hunt Regional Medical Center Medical Pavilion
903-408-5005