How can you use radiology to diagnose disease?

Answer 1

It depends on what type of radiology you use, and what disease(s) you're looking for. plain film radiography (traditional 'x-ray') is best at detecting anomalies in bone, but can also show soft tissue conditions (such as cancers) when the signal bounces back from something more solid. Pneumonia, for example, can be seen on 'x-ray' imaging.

When looking at soft tissue on x-ray, you may see evidence of swelling, which could prompt a clinician to order further imaging such as CT or MRI. We have also seen examples of calcification in arteries on x-ray, but this means that there is already a lot of damage because calcification takes time to build up to a level detectable on x-ray.

CT's are often used for areas where movement occurs, such as the brain, lungs, or digestive system/abdomen, so can diagnose conditions in those areas. (especially bleeding)

MRI is used to diagnose many conditions, and has multiple types of imaging (directional, saturation, etc.) to change the viewing window for better detection of certain tissues (water vs fat, for example). It is often used to see things like disc herniations, ruptured tendons/ligaments/muscle bellies, some spinal cord problems, and can also detect tumors among other conditions.

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