Normal abdominal x-ray

Case contributed by Jeremy Jones
Diagnosis certain

Patient Data

Age: 60 years
Gender: Male
x-ray

Normal appearances. No cause for pain. No evidence of obstruction.

Annotated image

The bowel gas pattern for the large bowel (red) can be traced from the cecum to the rectum. This is possible because the colon is filled with gas and feces. Some gas-filled small bowel loops are seen more centrally.

Annotated image

Spinal curvature does not equal scoliosis! If the patient doesn't lie straight when the x-ray is taken, this is the result. There is background degenerative change, but it's not excessive for the patient's age.

Case Discussion

Normal appearances of this abdominal film. The large bowel is filled with feces, but not dilated. No evidence of small bowel dilatation either. Spinal curvature just reflects that the patient wasn't lying straight on this occasion.

A normal radiograph doesn't exclude intra-abdominal pathology. 

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