What's an X-Ray?
An X-ray is a safe and painless test that uses a small amount of radiation to make an image of bones, organs, and other parts of the body.
The X-ray image is black and white. Dense body parts, such as bones, block the passage of the X-ray beam through the body. These look white on the X-ray image. Softer body tissues, such as the skin and muscles, allow the X-ray beams to pass through them. They look darker on the image.
X-rays are commonly done in doctors’ offices, radiology departments, imaging centers, and dentists’ offices.
What's a Hand X-Ray?
In a hand X-ray, an X-ray machine sends a beam of radiation through the hand, and an image is recorded on special X-ray film or a computer. This image shows the soft tissues and the wrist bones (carpal bones) the bones between the wrist bones and the fingers (metacarpal bones) and the fingers (phalanges).