X-RAYS

X-rays were first observed and documented in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German scientist who found them quite by accident when experimenting with vacuum tubes.

A week later, he took an X-ray photograph of his wife's hand and he called it "X" to indicate it was an unknown type of radiation.

An x-ray source is turned on and x-rays are radiated through the body part of interest and onto a film cassette positioned under or behind the body part. A special phosphor coating inside the cassette glows and exposes the film. The resulting film is then developed much like a regular photograph. It is the special energy and wavelength of the x-rays which allow them to pass through the body part and create the image of the internal structures like the bones of the hand. 

X-rays are especially useful in the detection of pathology of the skeletal system, but are also useful for detecting some disease processes in soft tissue.

Today, 8th November, is the 115° anniversary of the discovery of X- Rays.

 Caterina Lucia

Marta Trapani