Radiology Chapter 30

Terms used to describe the appearance, location, and size of a lesion.

Allows dental professionals to describe and discuss what is seen on a dental radiograph intelligently and to communicate using a common language. It eliminates the chance for miscommunication amoung dental professionals. It allows the dental professional to document what is seen on a radiograph in the patient record in terms of appearance, location, and size. It is essential for legal purposes.

An image that is produced on photosensitive film by exposing the film to x-rays and then processing the film so that a negative is produced. May also be called "x-ray film, radiogram, roentgenogram or roentgenograph.

A beam of energy that has the power to penetrate substances and to record shadow images on a photographic film.

Radiograph refers to the actual film and x-ray refers to the beam of energy.

The portion of a processed radiograph that is dark or black.  They lack density and permit the passage of the x-ray beam with little or no resistance.  Examples include dental caries, air spaces, soft tissues, dental pulp, periodontal ligament space.

The portion of a processed radiograph that appears light or white.  They are dense and absorb or resist the passage of the x-ray beam.  Examples include metallic restoration, enamel, dentin, and bone.

Appearance, location, size.

Unilocular or multilocular

A radiolucent lesion that exhibits one compartment.  They tend to be small and nonexpansile.  They have borders that may appear corticated or noncorticated.

Exhibits a thin, well-demarcated radiopaque rim of bone at the periphery.  It is usually indicative of a benign, slow-growing process.

The periphery appears fuzzy or poorly defined.  They may represent either a benign or a malignant process.

A lesion that exhibits multiple radiolucent compartments.  It is larger than a unilocular lesion.  They typically exhibit well-defined, corticated margins.  They are frequently expansile adn tend to displace the buccal adn lingual plates of bone.  They are typically benign lesions with aggressive growth potential.  They mostly represent a reactive or neoplastic process.  Examples include odontogenic keratocyst, ameloblastoma, central giant cell granuloma.

Important for communication and documentation purposes.  They may appear in a periapical, inter-radicular, edentulous, or pericoronal location. They may also appear as alveolar bone loss. 

Located around the apex of a tooth.  Example is periapical cyst secondary to pulpal necrosis.