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In this article we will describe what is a normal chest x-ray and how to interpret it.
This is a normal chest x-ray (CXR). It is a PA and lateral chest x-ray of a healthy woman. Note mild pectus excavatum on the lateral image (arrows).
This is a normal chest x-ray because it has the following features: clear lung fields; a normal looking heart (CT ratio under 0.5); no visible nodules, tumours, masses or foreign bodies; and it has a clearly outlined chest cavity, with clear costodiaphragmatic angles.
A CXR is quick, cheap and non-invasive – and tells you alot about the heart (like an ECG) and lungs. This is why such an ‘old test’ is still so widely used.
We have described the normal chest x-ray. We hope it has been helpful.
