How to Use This Site
- This site is organized as a tree: Sections → Systems → Topics → Pages. Each page teaches one idea.
- Every page is tagged with a level (Foundation → Med Student → Core → Subspecialty), so you can read at your depth.
- Pages have archetypes — an "approach" page reads differently from a "don't-miss" page — and they're built that way on purpose.
- Blue links jump to related pages. Follow them; the whole site is one big connected web.
- Lost? Start at How to Read Any Study and let the links pull you along.
Welcome. Before you go sprinting off into chest X-rays and brain bleeds, let me hand you the map. Radiology is a big building, and nobody enjoys wandering the corridors trying every door. Five minutes here saves you an hour of being lost, and I promise this is the least clinical page on the whole site.
The site is a tree (the good kind)
Everything is organized like a filing cabinet with four drawers nested inside each other. From biggest to smallest:
| Level | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Section | The big buckets | Foundations, Body Systems, Subspecialties |
| System | An organ area or theme | Neuroradiology, Thoracic / Chest |
| Topic | A cluster within a system | "Core Conditions," "Don't-Miss & Emergencies" |
| Page | One idea, taught fully | Pneumothorax |
Think of it like a grocery store. The Section is "Produce," the System is "Apples," the Topic is "Green apples," and the Page is the single Granny Smith you actually pick up. You never have to memorize this structure — but knowing the shape means you always know roughly where you are, the way you instinctively know the milk lives at the back of the store.
Pages come in flavors (archetypes)
Not every page is built the same, because not every topic wants to be taught the same way. We label each page with an archetype so you know what kind of read you're in for.
| Archetype | What it's for |
|---|---|
| approach | A step-by-step way to look at a study so you miss less |
| entity | A single disease, top to bottom |
| don't-miss | The emergencies you cannot afford to skim past |
| pitfall | The classic traps and look-alikes that fool everyone |
| physics / technique | How the machine makes the picture in the first place |
| reference | Lookups, cheat sheets, and orientation pages like this one |
A "don't-miss" page is short and a little intense on purpose — it's the radiology equivalent of the flight attendant pointing at the exits. An "entity" page is the leisurely dinner. Read each one in the spirit it's written.
Read at your own depth (levels)
Every page also carries a level badge. This is the single most useful thing on the site, so let me be blunt about it.
| Level | Who it's for |
|---|---|
| Foundation | Total beginners — the absolute groundwork |
| Med Student | The "you'll be expected to recognize this" tier |
| Core | Resident-level depth, aimed at board exams |
| Subspecialty | The deep end, where fellows live |
You don't have to read in order, but you should read at your level. A first-week medical student plunging into a Subspecialty page on advanced perfusion imaging is like trying to read the last chapter of a mystery novel first — technically possible, mostly just confusing. If a page feels like it's speaking a language you haven't learned yet, check the badge. There's almost always a gentler page on the same idea.
When a page feels too hard, it's usually not you — it's the level. Drop down a tier, build the foundation, then climb back up.
Follow the blue links
The first time any page mentions a concept that has its own page, it gets hyperlinked. That's not decoration — it's the whole philosophy. Radiology isn't a stack of isolated facts; it's a web where everything connects to everything. The haze of pulmonary edema only makes sense once you understand the four radiographic densities, which themselves make sense once you understand attenuation.
So when you hit a blue word and feel a little fuzzy on it, click. Go learn that thing, then come back. You'll lose your place for ninety seconds and gain the actual understanding. That trade is always worth it.
The pieces inside a page
As you read, you'll keep bumping into the same styled boxes. Here's the quick legend so they don't surprise you:
- Key Points (the bubble at the top): the "if you remember nothing else" list. Read it first and last.
- Callouts: boxed asides. The red danger ones mean this genuinely hurts people — slow down there.
- Pitfall boxes: the classic trap on that topic, the mistake everyone makes once.
- Figure stubs: placeholders where a medical image belongs, like the one below. We describe exactly what the picture should show until the real image arrives.
The biggest mistake new readers make here isn't medical — it's trying to read the whole site front to back like a textbook. Don't. Pick a starting point, follow your curiosity through the links, and let the tree fill in around you.
Where to actually start
If you're brand new, go to How to Read Any Study for a universal method, then wander into whichever Body System you're curious about. If you've got a goal in mind — an exam, a rotation — peek at Choosing Your Path, and keep the Glossary of Terms open in another tab for when the jargon piles up.
That's the whole map. The single most important takeaway: you don't have to read everything, and you don't have to read it in order. Find your level, follow the links, and trust the tree to hold the rest together while you explore.