What is radioplaque?

What is radioplaque?

• A. Sees through
• B. Does not go through
• C. Absorbs but passes
• D. Glows in the dark

Answer: (B)

Radiopaque means the material blocks X-rays, absorbing the photons so they don’t reach the detector. On a radiograph this shows up as a bright or white area. Dense or high-atomic-number substances, like bone or metal, are radiopaque. So the best way to express radiopaque is that X-rays do not go through the material easily. The opposite is radiolucent (they pass through more readily and appear darker). The other options aren’t accurate representations of this concept—glowing in the dark isn’t related to X-ray attenuation, and “absorbs but passes” implies some transmission, which isn’t the defining idea.

Radiopaque means the material blocks X-rays, absorbing the photons so they don’t reach the detector. On a radiograph this shows up as a bright or white area. Dense or high-atomic-number substances, like bone or metal, are radiopaque. So the best way to express radiopaque is that X-rays do not go through the material easily. The opposite is radiolucent (they pass through more readily and appear darker). The other options aren’t accurate representations of this concept—glowing in the dark isn’t related to X-ray attenuation, and “absorbs but passes” implies some transmission, which isn’t the defining idea.