THE SCOPE OF THE ROENTGENOLOGIST'S REPORT

Abstract

There are two recognized extremes in the conception of what the report of a roentgenologic examination should include. The one extreme is typified by the report which describes in detail all that the roentgenologist sees in the film or on the screen, but does not tell what he thinks about it, what conclusions he draws from it, what it means to him. Such a report is, in its perfect form, a bald recital of roentgen signs, like the pathologist's description of a postmortem specimen, or a dermatologist's description of a skin lesion: at its best a perfect word picture but without meaning to one unable to interpret it. This form of report puts most of the burden on the stenographer; it commits the roentgenologist to nothing except accurate vision and good description; it is bound to be verbose; it tells much, yet almost nothing. It would be the ideal form