Radiology Interest Group - University of Saskatchewan

ABC's of reading a chest X-ray










Hey everyone, here's a little ABC mnemonic that I use for reading a chest. It;s good help if you ever get grilled in clinical about reading an xray or for an osce station

(Note - before doing this, always first go through the initial steps. i.e. - patient name, date, view, rotation, # of ribs on inspiration, spinous processes visible)

A = Airway (midline, patent)

B = Bones (fractures, lytic lesions)

C = Cardiac Silhouette size (should be less than 50%)

D = Diaphragm (flat or elevated hemidiaphragm?)

E = Edges (borders) of heart

F = Fields (lung fields well inflated; no effusions, infiltrates, or nodules noted)

G = Gastric Bubble

H = Hilum (nodes, masses)

I = Instrumentation

source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6037832/ABC-of-Reading-Chest-Xray