ABSTRACT
The underlying basis for medical applications of x-rays depends on the differential attenuation of x-rays when interacting with the human body. A uniform x-ray beam incident on the patient interacts with the tissues of the body, producing a variable transmitted x-ray flux dependent on the attenuation along the beam paths. This produces a superimposed “shadow” of the internal anatomy. This provides an overview of the current state of the practice of medical x-ray use in projection and tomographic medical imaging. Topics covered arex-ray production, interactions, detectors, and methods of image acquisition and x-ray dose.
