ABSTRACT
Röentgen discovered X-rays when he noticed that a thin layer of barium platinocyanide on a cardboard screen would ´uoresce even when the discharge tube (a primitive X-ray tube) was covered by black paper. Simultaneously he had discovered the ‰rst X-ray receptor! The receptor is the third essential component, after the X-ray tube which produces the beam and the patient, whose body tissues generate the primary radiation contrast (Chapter 3), required to create high quality radiographic images. In this chapter we shall discuss the various mechanisms by which different receptors produce images and in Chapter 6 concentrate on the important properties that make images ‘‰t for purpose’ in the diagnostic process.
