contrast medium

contrast medium, substance comparatively opaque to X ray, which, when present in an organ or tissue, causes a lighter appearance—i.e., a more definite image—on the X-ray film. Some body structures, such as the lungs, show in X-ray films and in fluoroscopic images by virtue of the sharp difference between the X-ray absorbing power of the air that distends them and that of the pulmonary tissue itself. This difference in absorbing power is called contrast. The heart, being composed largely of muscle and blood, contrasts strongly with the air-filled lungs adjacent to it but scarcely at all with the liver beneath; bones are distinguished from surrounding muscle and the various parts of bone from one another because of the calcium phosphate they contain. To a great extent, however, the clinical usefulness of the X-ray examination depends on the use of artificial contrast media. The most extensively used opaque medium is barium sulfate. Stirred into water and usually flavoured, this insoluble heavy metal salt is swallowed by the patient for examination of his esophagus and stomach; it is also used as a barium enema to examine the rectum, colon, and terminal ileum. Iodized organic compounds are used for examination of the gallbladder, urinary tract, blood vessels, spleen, liver, and bile ducts. X-ray visualization of the bronchi better than that obtained merely by the contrast of contained air is made possible by the introduction into the bronchial tree of unsaturated vegetable oil partially saturated with iodine. An emulsion of ethyl iodophenylundecylate also is used in bronchography and in the examination of the spinal canal (myelography). See also diagnostic imaging.