Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:36:53.245Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2.10 - Imaging of the Abdomen

from Section 2 - Diagnosis, Assessment, Investigation, Monitoring and Data Interpretation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

By
Chun Wah So  and
Matthew Gale
Edited by
Ned Gilbert-Kawai ,
Debashish Dutta  and
Carl Waldmann
Ned Gilbert-Kawai
Affiliation:
The Royal Liverpool Hospital
Debashish Dutta
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Carl Waldmann
Affiliation:
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
Get access

Summary

Key Learning Points

  1. 1. On an abdominal X-ray, the bowel is only visible when there is intraluminal gas or an air–fluid level, as the different densities are required to create contrast resolution so they can be perceived on a radiograph.

  2. 2. The 3/6/9 rule refers to the maximum size of specific sections of the bowel.

  3. 3. On an abdominal X-ray, the small bowel is normally central and valvulae conniventes can be seen. The colon, by contrast, is normally peripheral and has haustral folds which do not completely traverse the lumen.

  4. 4. In the early stages of pancreatitis, no abnormalities may be seen on CT imaging.

  5. 5. In cholecystitis, ultrasound is more sensitive than CT; however, CT is better at depicting complications such as perforation.

Keywords

abdominal X-rayCTobstructionvolvulus
Type
Chapter
Information
Intensive Care Medicine
The Essential Guide
 , pp. 68 - 74
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References and Further Reading

Harvey, CJ, Allen, S, O’Regan, D. Interpretation of the abdominal radiograph: 1. Br J Hosp Med (Lond) 2005;66:88–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raby, N, Berman, L, de Lacey, G. Accident and Emergency Radiology: A Survival Guide, 2nd edn. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2005.Google Scholar
Radiology Masterclass. 2019. Abdominal X-ray – system and anatomy. www.radiologymasterclass.co.uk/tutorials/abdo/abdomen_x-ray/anatomy_introductionGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×