Almost every patient has some form of medical imaging performed during his or her investigations and management. The commonest form of imaging, and the modality which all doctors should be able to interpret, remains the X-ray. This important aspect of radiology is, therefore, the main focus of the book.

Despite its universal importance, X-ray interpretation is often an overlooked subject in the medical school curriculum, which many medical students and junior doctors find difficult and daunting.

The keys to interpreting X-rays are having a systematic method for assessing the X-ray and getting lots of practice at looking at and presenting X-rays. Occasionally, there may be a complex X-ray you find difficult or a subtle finding you overlook, but that’s what this book is for, so do not worry about it.

This book is highly illustrated with lots of X-ray images. Radiology is a visual subject, and therefore such images are difficult to use to demonstrate key clinical findings.