Pediatric Imaging

X-RAY Procedure

What is an X-ray?

An x-ray is a type of photograph that doctors take to see the bones inside your body.

Why do I need an X-ray?

You might need an x-ray if you have fallen or hurt your arm. The doctor will need to look inside your body at your bones to see if they are ok and to know how to help you get better. You might have heard of someone "breaking" his or her arm or leg. You might even have a friend or family member who has done this. They have probably had an x-ray too. They may even have had a cast or brace on the part of the body that they hurt. This is to protect their body and let their bones heal. Your body is very strong and with the doctor’s help will be able to fix itself if this has happened.

What will the X-ray be like?

The person taking your x-ray is called a technologist. The technologist will take you into a room with a table in the middle. This room has a table in the middle with a camera next to it. This is the camera that will take pictures of the inside of you! This camera does not look like the camera that your mom uses to take pictures on the first day of school, on your birthday or when you go on a trip. This camera is too big to carry and so it always stays in this special room. That is why you have to come to the hospital to get your picture taken.

The technologist will ask you to please lie down on the table and may cover some parts of your body with a heavy apron. This is so the camera does not take pictures of those parts of your body. You then have to be very, very still when the technologist tells you the camera is going to take the picture. The X-ray machine will make a special "CLICK, BUZZ" sound while the pictures are being taken. When you are all done the doctor will be able to show you the pictures they have taken of your bones!