What can a chest film show?
An x-ray provides an image of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and any calcium deposits present in the chest. It can show pericardial and pleural effusion and can detect tumorous nodules. A chest x-ray can also show evidence of pleural plaques, which are benign, often partly calcified, scattered areas of scar tissue on the lining of the lungs. Pleural thickening is scarring throughout the tissue surrounding the lung and may be diffuse throughout the pleura; it can also be detected by x-ray.
