View trusted insights from KidsHealth.org, the #1 most viewed
health site for children, created by the experts at Nemours.
We've also provided information from the most-respected From
Nemours' KidsHealth Trusted External Resources X-Ray Exam: Chest
What It Is A chest X-ray is a safe and painless test that uses a
small amount of radiation to take a picture of a person's chest.
During the examination, an X-ray machine sends a beam of
radiation through the chest, and an image is recorded on special
film or a computer. This image includes organs and structures
such as the heart, lungs, large blood vessels, diaphragm, part
of the airway, lymph nodes, the upper spine, ribs, collarbone,
and breastbone. The X-ray image is black and white. Dense body
parts that block the passage of the X-ray beam through the body,
such as the heart and bones, appear white on the X-ray image.
Hollow body parts, such as the lungs, allow X-ray beams to pass
through them and appear black. An X-ray technician takes the
X-rays. Usually, two