i am led to believe that the grey/white colours of a black and white x-ray represent fluid and dark colours to represent tissue. is this true? also, can you use x-rays to study tissue, especially isolate dead tissue from normal tissue?
2007-04-26 09:38:08 · 6 answers · asked by dbamansour 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
On x-ray, bone and dense materials such as barium are white. Black would be air (lungs or air in the GI tract). Other tissues are in shades of gray. You can see the outline or shadow of the kidneys or certain muscles, for example. But you cannot see these things in detail. X-ray does not show the difference between normal vs. "dead" tissue. A CT scan, or even better, a MRI would be better suited for that type of diagnosis.
2007-04-26 12:41:59 · answer #1 · answered by Lissacal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The shade represents the density of the material the x-rays pass through, whether it is the body or not. The more dense, the lighter the shade of gray on the x-ray film The same technique can be used with radioactive sources to look for defects in things like a casting. A void in a casting will show up as a darker area. Just like a cancer in the lungs is more dense than the lung which has many void spaces so the tumor shows up as whiter spots on the x-ray film. All the film cares about is the exposure from the density, whether the tissue is live or not makes no difference. Now, if there is a density difference, then maybe, if the resolution of the film can show the difference in density betw3een live and dead tissue.
2007-04-26 17:00:55 · answer #2 · answered by rowlfe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's a representation of density. Bones are dense, therefore x-rays will not pass through as readily as soft tissue. Some tissues are a little more dense than others, so there will be some contrast.
Keep in mind, that the image the doctor looks at is a negative image, so bones (dense material) shows up whiter then soft tissue (which shows up darker).
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2007-04-26 16:44:22 · answer #3 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I thought the different shades of grey represented different densities of tissue. I think there are better techniques than x-ray to use to study tissue in more detail. I'll say no more, I'm sure someone else knows more about the latter!
2007-04-26 16:43:29 · answer #4 · answered by finch 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
black represents the 'empty spaces' that have very little density (lung tissue and fat and skin/muscles)
the white is the dense areas (bones, bullets...)
2007-04-27 02:05:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ummm i dont know i though black was just the color of your skin/tissue and xray is the bone!!! and i dont think you can i think you have to ultra sound the tissue and stuff
2007-04-26 16:42:27 · answer #6 · answered by meagan j 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋