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X-ray anatomy of bones
Last reviewed: 20.11.2021
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The bones of a living human's skeleton can be studied using the X-ray method. The presence in the bones of calcium salts makes the bones less "transparent" for X-rays than the surrounding soft tissues. Due to the unequal structure of the bones, the presence of a more or less thick layer of a compact cortical substance in them, and the spongy substance inside it, one can see and distinguish the bones and their parts on radiographs.
The compact substance forms on the roentgenogram a dense "shadow" in the form of light strips of a greater or lesser thickness, and a spongy figure is a net-like pattern on which the cells have the appearance of dark spots of various sizes. In the diaphysis of tubular bones, in the middle part, a fairly thick compact substance gives the corresponding thickness a "shadow" tapering in the region of the epiphyses, where the compact substance becomes thinner. Between the two light "shadows" of a compact substance, a darker, broader band corresponding to the medullar cavity is visible. The compact substance of spongy (short) and epiphyses of tubular bones on radiographs is represented by a narrow (thin) light stripe. Inside this band is a mesh of spongy substance, in the direction of the beams of which you can trace the lines of compression and stretching. Various types of bone containers containing soft tissues (for example, orbits) transparent to X-rays or air filled cavities (paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity) on the roentgenograms look like large dark formations ("enlightenments"), bordered by light lines that correspond to their bone walls. Furrows on the bones formed as a result of the adherence of blood vessels (arteries, veins) or sinuses of the hard shell of the brain, appear on the roentgenograms more or less than width "enlightenments" - dark lines.
In places where the bones are connected to each other, a dark band is seen-the x-ray joint gap, bounded by lighter lines of a compact bone substance that forms articular surfaces. The width of the x-ray joint gap depends on the thickness of the articular cartilage, which is transparent to X-rays. On roentgenograms, you can see the points of ossification and on them determine the age, track the replacement of epiphyseal cartilage with bone tissue, the fusion of bone parts (the appearance of synostosis).