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X-rays is a form of electromagnetic radiation.X-ray machine is an apparatus that provides a source of X rays.
Xrays were discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895
An X-ray machine is essentially a camera. Instead of visible light, however, it uses X-rays to expose the film.
X-rays are like light in that they are electromagnetic waves, but they are more energetic so they can penetrate many materials to varying degrees. When the X-rays hit the film, they expose it just as light would. Since bone, fat, muscle, tumors and other masses all absorb X-rays at different levels, the image on the film lets you see different (distinct) structures inside the body because of the different levels of exposure on the film.
The heart of an X-ray machine is a vacuum-sealed glass cylinder containing a pair of electrodes. When electricity is sent through the tube, X-rays are released at the positive electrode.
The high-energy rays pass through soft body tissue, but get absorbed by dense material such as bone. This creates ’shadows‘ that can be captured with photographic or fluoroscopic techniques.
Doctors used X-rays to see inside living patients’ bodies without having to cut them open.
A radiograph is an X-ray image obtained by placing a part of the patient in front of an X-ray detector and then illuminating it with a short X-ray pulse.
Fluoroscopy is an imaging technique commonly used by physicians to obtain real-time moving images of the internal structures of a patient through the use of a fluoroscope.
Computed tomography (CT scanning) is a medical imaging modality where tomographic images or slices of specific areas of the body are obtained from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken in different direction. These cross-sectional images can be combined into a three-dimensional image of the inside of the body and used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in various medical disciplines.
The use of X-rays as a treatment is known as radiation therapy and is largely used for the management of cancer; it requires higher radiation energies than for imaging alone.