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Cheatography

Basic Imaging Cheat Sheet by

A basic introduction to imaging.

Radiol­ogical Termin­ology

Lytic
Bone loss/d­est­ruction (blacker)
Blasti­c/S­cle­rotic
Bone production (whiter) - blotches
Artefact
Anything that obscur­es/­dis­torts the image - patient clothing, image noise
Coalition
Congenital fusing of two bones
Disart­icu­lation
Discon­nection of limb from the body through the joint
Congruent
Joint that is not dislocated
Involucrum
Caused by osteom­yelitis - thick shealth of periosteal new bone surrou­nding a sequestrum
Sequestrum
Calcif­ication within a lucent lesion, separated from the surrou­nding bone
Monomelic
Condition that is confined to one limb
Monostatic
Condition that involves one bone
Polystotic
Condition that involves multiple bones
Agenesis
Failure of growth of an organ - congenital
Aplasia
Absence of develo­pment of a struct­ure­/organ
Gold Standard
Best test for the best diagnosis of a disease
Subcli­nical disease
Asympt­omatic
Cloaca
Osteom­yelitis - drainage hole

X-Ray

Strengths
Weaknesses
Relatively Inexpe­nsive
No soft tissue details
Widely available
Cannot detect loss of bone mass unless severe (30-50%)
Bone pathol­ogies - f#, tumour, arthritis, osteom­yel­itis, bone disease
Cannot detect bone marrow change­s/o­edema
Assess orthop­aedic hardware
Ionising radiation
Termin­ology used in x-ray images:
Radiol­ucent: black
Radio-­opaque: White

CT

Strengths
Weaknesses
2D + 3D images
Uses ionising radiation
Complex fractures - especially of flat bones + spine
Cannot show bone marrow change­s/o­edema
Assess for fracture healing
Postop - degree of fusion­/ha­rdware compli­cations
Bone window: assesses cortical bone - makes bone appear more grey
Soft tissue window: Assesses soft tissues, soft tissue appears more detailed, bony appears more bright
Hyperd­ense: White
Hypodense: Black

MRI

Strengths
Weaknesses
Excellent for soft tissues
Expensive
Bone Marrow­/oedema
May require further imaging
Non-io­nising radiation
Claust­rop­hobic patients
T1: Fat is high signal - MRI shut off quickly
T2: Water is high signal - MRI shut off after a long period of time
STIR: Fat suppre­ssion, fluid is high signal - good for oedema.

Ultrasound

Strengths
Weaknesses
Anatomic + Dynamic functional evaluation of MSK tissues
Operator dependant
Determines whether mass is Cystic­/Solid nature
Superf­icial structures only
Vascul­arity of a lesion (Doppler)
Real time guidance for percut­aneous procedures
Foreign body detection
Hypere­choic: White
Hypoec­hoic: Black
 

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