Z G07: Sciences Light & Sound: X-rays

Following a brief explanation of an extremity x-ray you will find a description of what an x-ray is and how it works. This article tells you what to expect when visiting a medical facility for an extremity x-ray. It provides information on why someone may need an extremity x-ray, how to prepare yourself, what the process entails, and the possible risks involved. You will also learn about normal and abnormal x-ray results. There are even pictures of x-rays that demonstrate examples of these types of results. Links to related topics are readily available.

Sometimes we take for granted the availability of current medical imaging technology, and we forget that back in 1895, when X-rays were discovered, the ability to see inside ourselves and objects was quite a sensation within the scientific and medical communities and the world at large. Using Flash technology to create an engaging interactive learning experience, the Nobel Foundation explains the progress made in imaging technology from 1901 to the present. Click on a point representing a year of note on the timeline, and you'll find videos, photographs, and text describing Nobel Prize-winning discoveries from X-rays to MRI's and beyond.

From A to Z, learn about all kinds of important inventions and the people who made them. Archimedes was the greatest Greek mathematician of his time (over 2,000 years ago), and he invented things we still use today! Learn who invented the first assembly line, batteries, Bunsen burner, cellophane, the first computer, the gyroscope, the first incandescent electric light (and it’s not who you think), the metric system, the steam engine, thermometer, X-ray, and more. You’ll discover inventors you’ve never met before, as well.

Have you ever imagined yourself with x-ray vision like many comic superheroes, able to see through nearly anything in your path? Have you been waiting for medical technology to hurry up and invent some x-ray glasses? While that is not likely to happen, the technology is rapidly improving when it comes to helping people who suffer from blindness to see. On this web site you can read an article that discusses some of these new breakthroughs in vision treatment.

Find out what happens during a blood test, urine test, CAT scan, EKG, MRI, or upper GI. KidsHealth has videos to show you what to expect from different common medical tests and procedures. A spirometry test is like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. It tells the doctor how well you breathe. A strep test might tickle and make you cough but it doesn't hurt. CAT scans, MRIs, and X-rays require you to stay still during the procedure. You might also need to drink medicine or get medicine from an IV.

X-ray examinations are helpful in the diagnosis of disease or special conditions. This fact sheet will tell you the purpose of an x-ray examination and the particular people who are involved in taking x-rays. It also tells you how x-rays work and the circumstances when x-rays are necessary. You will be taken step-by-step through the process just as if you were being x-rayed yourself. Along with this information on what happens to the person being x-rayed, you will also learn what particular considerations need to be made by the professionals before an x-ray is taken.

What do penicillin, Super Glue and X-rays have in common? Their inventors all discovered them by accident!

If you were able to pick between two super powers, which would you choose... X-ray vision or the ability to fly? Sure, it would be cool to fly anywhere and anytime you wanted. But just imagine what you could do with X-ray vision .