The Chest Radiograph

The chest radiograph accounts for a very significant proportion of imaging throughout the world. It often represents the first imaging step, not only in diseases that focus on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, but in systemic illness. For this reason, its ubiquity can be beguiling. There is an inclination to feel that because one grows up with the chest radiograph, there must be an innate and acquired knowledge not always tested by rigorous curriculum or by assessment. The purpose of this Ground Rounds paper is to set out some basic principles which I hope will be helpful for the medical student and postgraduate trainee.