Review areas on chest radiograph

Last revised by Rohit Sharma on 18 Feb 2024

Review areas on a chest radiograph are common areas for missed findings, and special attention should be paid to them:

  1. lung apices: masses (e.g. Pancoast tumor), pneumothorax

  2. behind the heart: consolidation, masses, hiatus hernia 2

  3. below the diaphragm: free gas, lines and tubes (e.g. nasogastric tube), gastric distension, bowel obstruction

  4. bones and soft tissues: fractures, masses, mastectomy, subcutaneous emphysema, evidence of previous surgery (e.g. axillary clips)

These first four are the classic review areas ref, sometimes the pulmonary hilum is included as an additional fifth region:

See also

Systematic chest radiograph assessment:

  1. projection

  2. assessment of the technical adequacy

  3. tubes and lines

  4. cardiomediastinal contours

  5. hila

  6. airways, lungs and pleura

  7. bones and soft tissue

  8. review areas

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