Interpretation of chest radiographs revisited and corrected from CT findings

To our knowledge, conventional chest radiography is not likely to become ob solete or disappear from the daily practice of medical imaging. As such, it is important to insure that chest radiographs are acquired using optimal t echnique. Evaluation of chest radiograph findings must be comprehensive and the art of reading chest radiographs must be well thought to physicians in training. Chest radiography is characterized by the projection of tridimen sional anatomical structures and disease processes onto a two-plane radiogr aphic film. Correlation with cross-sectional data obtained from CT may grea tly enhance the understanding and interpretation of conventional chest radi ographs. Indeed, review of CT images facilitates anatomical understanding o f the segmental and subsegmental anatomy, of the superior segments of the l ower lobes and of the three dimensional orientation of the fissures, CT als o has improved the understanding of some chest radiography findings. Carefu l review of findings at chest radiography is helpful to optimize CT acquisi tion protocols in order to reduce some of the pitfalls of CT and improve de tection of specific processes that could otherwise be poorly demonstrated o r overlooked. Chest radiographs can sometimes detect diseases or abnormalit ies that are difficult to demonstrate at CT.