Editing Radiology (section)

=== Projection (plain) radiography ===
{{main|Projectional radiography}}
[[File:Knee 1300270.JPG|thumb|[[Projectional radiography|Projectional radiograph]] of the knee]]

[[Radiography|Radiographs]] (originally called roentgenographs, named after the discoverer of [[X-ray]]s, [[Wilhelm Röntgen|Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen]]) are produced by transmitting X-rays through a patient. The X-rays are projected through the body onto a detector; an image is formed based on which rays pass through (and are detected) versus those that are absorbed or scattered in the patient (and thus are not detected). Röntgen discovered X-rays on November 8, 1895, and received the first [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] for his discovery in 1901.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In film-screen radiography, an X-ray tube generates a beam of X-rays, which is aimed at the patient. The X-rays that pass through the patient are filtered through a device called a grid or [[X-ray filter]], to reduce scatter, and strike an undeveloped film, which is held tightly to a screen of light-emitting phosphors in a light-tight cassette. The film is then developed chemically and an image appears on the film. Film-screen radiography is being replaced by [[phosphor plate radiography]] but more recently by [[digital radiography]] (DR) and the [[EOS (medical imaging)|EOS imaging]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bittersohl B, Freitas J, Zaps D, Schmitz MR, Bomar JD, Muhamad AR, Hosalkar HS | title = EOS imaging of the human pelvis: reliability, validity, and controlled comparison with radiography | journal = The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. American Volume | volume = 95 | issue = 9 | pages = e58–1–9 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23636197 | doi = 10.2106/JBJS.K.01591 }}</ref> In the two latest systems, the X-rays strike sensors that converts the signals generated into digital information, which is transmitted and converted into an image displayed on a computer screen. In [[digital radiography]] the sensors shape a plate, but in the EOS system, which is a slot-scanning system, a linear sensor vertically scans the patient.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Plain radiography was the only imaging modality available during the first 50 years of radiology. Due to its availability, speed, and lower costs compared to other modalities, radiography is often the first-line test of choice in radiologic diagnosis. Also despite the large amount of data in CT scans, MR scans and other digital-based imaging, there are many disease entities in which the classic diagnosis is obtained by plain radiographs. Examples include various types of arthritis and pneumonia, bone tumors (especially benign bone tumors), fractures, congenital skeletal anomalies, and certain kidney stones.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

[[Mammography]] and [[DXA]] are two applications of low energy projectional radiography, used for the evaluation for [[breast cancer]] and [[osteoporosis]], respectively.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}