RADIOLOGY Paper XVI

Course Description

The course in radiology occupies a two week period to enable students to read and interpret common radiological findings on plain skiagrams of the skull, sinuses, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, upper and lower extremities.

General Objectives

Students will be able to

  • read and interpret common radiological findings on plain skiagrams of the skull, sinuses, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, upper and lower extremities.
  • identify gross abnormalities relating to barium swallow, barium meal of stomach and duodenum, barium enema, oral cholecystography;
  • understand the principles of ultrasonograpjy;
  • recognise computerised axial tomograply, myelogram, bronchogram, lymphangiogram, sialogram, intravenous cholangiogram, T-tube cholangiogram, tomograms, arthrogram, urethrogram and hysterosalpingogram and recent advances like NMR, PET SCAN and DAS

Specific objectives

Students will be able to

  • identify the bones of skull calvarium, contour of skull bones, sella turcica, sutures, paranasal sinuses;
  • identify cervical spines and their parts and note cervical rib if present;
  • note that scapulae are not obstructing lung fields in PA view and differentiate it from AP view taken in patients who are in bed;
  • demarcate lung fields in chest X-rays, compare heart size with lung field, note cardiophrenic and costophrenic angles, identify vascular pattern, dome of diaphgram, located hilar shadows, note tracheal location, identify ribs on both sides;
  • identify on an X-ray of the abdomen the liver, spleen kidneys, psoas muscle shadows, visualize bones and observe gases at different fields of the abdomen;
  • identify on an X-ray the different bones forming the pelvis and the sacro-iliac and hip joints;
  • note different bones forming part in the upper limb and note their normal anatomy;
  • note different bones that form the lower limb and their normal anatomy.

Abnormal skiagrams

Students will be able to

  • identify fractures relating to any bones of the skull, note the size of sella-turcica, spot any intracranial calcification, identify evidence of raised intracranial pressure;
  • identify sinusitis and polyps in X-rays of sinuses;
  • identify cervical ribs, note gross abnormalities relating to cervical vertebrae, observe classification and enlargement of thyroid gland, note tracheal deviation and identify classified shadows
  • identify on chest X-ray obliteration of costophrenic and cardiophrenic angles and lesions like pneumothorax, effusion, hydropneumothorax, enlargement of hilar shadows,
  • observe lung parenchymal lesions especially those of pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia, abscesses, tumors;
  • identify on chest X-rays tracheal deviations, note elevation and depression of diaphragms, identify abnormalities relating to bony cage, observe soft tissue shadows;
  • recognize cardiomegaly and heart diseases such as mitral heart diseases, pericardial effusion;
  • note on X-rays of abdomen, gases under the right dome of diaphragm, identify fluid levels at different regions and recognize distended intestinal shadow, observe calcifications, identify abnormalities in relation to vertebrae, identify fetus, its presentation and lie and the presence of multiple pregnancies;
  • identify on X-rays of pelvis calcifications, and abnormalities of sacroiliac, hip joints and pelvic bones;
  • identify on X-rays of the upper limb, fractures, bony lesions such as tumors, osteomyelitis and arthritis of all bones and joints of upper extremity and rickets.

Barium studies of the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract

Students will be able to

  • identify growths and varices of oesophagus, ulcers and filling defects of stomach and duodenum in barium studies of the upper gastrointestinal tract;
  • identify filling defects of the colon in barium studies of the lower gastrointestinal tract;

Intravenous urograms

Students will be able to

  • identify renal stones, ectopic kidneys, horse shoe kidney, hydronephrosis, enlarged kidney, filling defects and stones in ureter and urinary bladder, stricture and rupture of urethra.

Oral cholecystogram

Students will be able to

  • identify gall stones and a nonfunctioning gall bladder.

Angiogram

Students will be able to

  • recognize the vessels and their main branches.

X-rays of special radiological investigation

Students will be able to

  • identify the procedure and recognize one from another, including myelogram, brocnchogram, lymphangiogram, sialogram, percutaneous, transphepatic cholangiogram, tomogram arthrogram, hystero salpingogram, urethrogram, intravenous cholangiogram, T-tube cholangiogram, ultrasonogram, computerised axial tomogram.
  • interpret mammograms focusing on signs to detect breast carcinoma.
  • interpret of common CT scan and MRI images.

Textbooks

  1. Clinical Radiology for Medical Students by Frot T. Evans et al
  2. WHO Radiology for General Practiotioners
  3. Text book of Radiology by David Suttun (2 Vols)