What can be seen from an x-ray?

Get some Gas-X, baw. I felt like I had appendicitis for 3-4 days and it was trapped gas. Felt bad for my co-workers after I started taking Gas-X

It's not me lol.

If soft tissues are dense enough you can see them.

You can see Achilles ruptures, and the disruption of the surrounding tissues. You can also see some content of the bowels.

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I was under the understanding that x rays only could view bones. Would take an MRI to see muscle/tendon issues, not an x ray.

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It's not going to show a muscle or tendon tear but you could see tissue edema. Most likely the doctor saw the negative X-ray and used his contextual clues.

and it can absolutely show constipation or obstruction.

Anomalies today can be seen with ultrasound as well as xray and MRI. But like any specialized activity, the outcome does depend on the tech and reader.

X-rays are used to produce an image (radiograph). We can detect differences in density as different shades of gray in the image. Air, water, soft tissue, bone, etc. Any two opposing structures of different density can be seen.

The Achilles' tendon is adjacent to a fat pad and is easily seen (or not seen like with a tear).

Gas and stool are also easily seen throughout the colon and small bowel, because they are also surrounded by fat, sometimes more than others.

You can't see X-rays, just the images they can produce.

X-ray is good for:
-Assessing injury
-Offering a low-cost, first-look exam




CT (fancy/expensive x-ray) is good for:
-Imaging bone, soft tissue and blood vessels at the same time
-Pinpointing issues with bony structures (injuries)
-Evaluating lung and chest issues
-Detecting cancers
-Imaging patients with metal (no magnet)



And with the aide of 3d modeling you can get a better overall picture...



MRI is good for:
-Imaging organs, soft tissue an internal structures
-Showing tissue difference between normal and abnormal
-Imaging without radiation
-Differences between normal and abnormal tissue is often clearer on an MRI than CT





In general x-rays are the most used for common diagnosis because they are cheap to purchase/operate, easy to operate, easy(ish) to read, and they're everywhere. The common x-ray, even chest x-rays, aren't a big enough hazard to your health to be concerned with their use.

CT and MRI equipment is very expensive to purchase, often slow to use (20 min to 1 hour or more), not portable in the least (sometimes the hospital/facility is built around the machine), is costly to operate/maintain, and requires specialized training.

CT is like an x-ray on steroids. You're blasted with such a high level that it is a concern. Having to have more than one or two per year becomes a problem. Sometimes even your profession is taken into consideration (pilots, nuclear plant workers, etc.).

MRI produces zero radiation. But many people have a problem with being stuck inside a small tube within a big arse machine that constantly makes loud fricking banging noises. So there's that. There are 2 main types: open and closed. Open is for the claustrophobic people, but closed produces a much much better image. And there are 2 main strengths manufactured today: 1.5 Tesla, and 3 Tesla. The 1.5T units you can't feel anything, the 3T units you can "feel" the change in the field around you. I've had both, and the 3T is a little trippy.

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and certainly shouldn't be used for diagnosis of an Achilles rupture

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I had a ruptured achilles. You don't need any machine to diagnose it. A simple 10 second test will do it. Put the knee down on a chair with the leg hanging behind. Squeeze the calf muscle. If the foot just dangles the achilles is gone. You can also feel the back of the ankle and notice that it is no longer there.

Worst injury to recover from in my life. 18 months until I could walk normally.

They're not gonna believe your lie that you fell on it by accident.

Air images very well on x Ray. That's why they do chest x rays all the time to evaluate lung fields. It's cheap and quick. If you have a lot of air in your bowels, i.e. Gas, it shows up on an abdomen / KUB radiograph.