What can cause dark spots on a chest x-ray? there are several black spots on my chest x-rays. i thought tumors where white, so what could these be?

The : The first thing to know about a chest x-ray is that dark things represent air or fat, which white things represent fluid, tissue, and bone. Therefore, "dark spots" on a chest film, especially if they are in the lungs, most likely represent holes. Lungs with a lot of disease--especially in smokers--can develop large cavities called bullae. Dark spots in the ribs or the bones of the spine and shoulders may represent destructive processes like infection or tumor. When people talk about "spots" on a chest film they're usually talking about white spots. White spots in the lungs can be caused by pneumonia or other infections, areas of partial lung collapse, or tumors. Extremely white spots can represent calcium deposits, as are often present iin the arteries of people with vascular disease and in the lining of the chest wall in people with asbestos exposure.. Chest films can be some of the most challenging xrays to read, because just about every disease out there causes some kind of abnormality in the chest. The list of differential diagnoses (that is, the possible causes of an abnormality) is very long.

Air: On typical chest x-ray the brighter areas are caused by bone while the darkest areas represent air. Soft tissue can appear grey like the heart. Spots on the lungs could be scarring from old infections or active infections with "pockets" or granulomas causing the insides to appear black. Ak md who can review the crazy with you.

Few things: The densities on chest x-ray range from dark, (air) fat (less lucent), gray (soft tissue) to most dense (bone), metallic densities such as coins and necklaces are most dense.I presume that dark spots are air containing structures such as cysts, areas of air trapping. Nodules , scars, tumors are usually soft tissue in density.Have your physician or even radiologist explain findings to you