X-rays are essential tools that doctors utilize to diagnose a variety of conditions, including broken bones, pneumonia, and heart failure. However, it’s crucial to recognize that not long ago, diagnosing issues such as broken bones, tumors, or swallowed objects required invasive surgery, underscoring how transformative X-ray technology has been in modern medicine.
Few scientific breakthroughs had as profound and immediate impact as Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays. This landmark event decisively transformed the fields of physics and medicine. Within just a year of Roentgen’s announcement, X-rays became indispensable in diagnosis and therapy, firmly establishing their place in the medical profession.
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a renowned professor of physics in Würzburg,Germany,made a revolutionary discovery in 1895 when he identified X-rays. On the evening of November 8, 1895, he was doing experiments in his laboratory, boldly exploring the mechanisms of how cathode-ray tubes emit light. During his work, he observed a glowing fluorescent screen positioned too far from the tube to be influenced by the cathode rays. He determined that the cathode rays striking the glass vacuum tube produced a new type of invisible ray. These rays demonstrated remarkable penetrative power, travelling long distances and causing the screen to glow even when obstacles like cardboard and aluminium were placed in their path. Moreover, they can be reproduced on photographic plates, marking a significant advancement in physics and medicine.
Because he did not yet understand the nature of the rays, he confidently named them ‘X’ rays, with ‘X’ representing ‘unknown.’ He preferred this term despite the insistence of other researchers to call them Röntgen rays.
Notably, one of his first photographic plates from his experiments featured a striking image of his wife Bertha’s hand, clearly displaying her wedding ring.
On December 28, he submitted his first “provisional” communication, “On a New Kind of Rays,” to the Proceedings of the Würzburg Physico-Medical Society. In January 1896, he confidently delivered his first public presentation to the same society, showcasing a demonstration that further solidified his claims. During this demonstration, he produced an X-ray image of the hand of an attending anatomist, who promptly proposed naming the groundbreaking discovery “Roentgen’s Rays”.
By February 1896, X-rays were being effectively utilized in clinical settings across the United States, notably in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where Edwin Brant Frost created an X-ray plate of a patient’s Colles fracture for his brother, a local doctor.
The Austrian newspaper ‘Die Presse’ was the first to report on these groundbreaking rays on January 5, 1896. After the significant media coverage, scientific and medical journals took notice and published their findings. On January 11, The Lancet featured an article, followed by Nature magazine dedicated 17 lines to Röntgen in its January 16 issue, underscoring the importance of this discovery. The British Medical Journal on February 1 prominently included an article titled “The New Photography.”
Honours for his groundbreaking work poured in, including the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. When questioned about his thoughts at the moment of discovery, he confidently declared, “I didn’t think, I investigated,”. He deliberately chose not to patent X-rays, ensuring that his transformative discoveries would be accessible to all. This selflessness came at a significant personal cost; by the time he passed away in 1923, Roentgen was nearly bankrupt due to the post-World War I inflation.
Pregnancy and X-ray Exposure:
Given ethical restrictions, the effects of radiation exposure on fetuses are primarily derived from observations rather than scientific research.
As a result, the data mainly available stems from studies of individuals impacted by the Hiroshima bombings and the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
It is established that radiation doses to the fetus below 50 mGy are considered safe and do not cause harm. Furthermore, research indicates that the fetus is more resilient to radiation during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
We have a detailed knowledge of the risks associated with X-ray radiation, and we have established effective protocols to significantly minimize unnecessary exposure. X-rays are an essential component of modern medicine, and their discovery has driven the advancement of a diverse array of imaging techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, echocardiography, and others—many of which eliminate the use of radiation. This remarkable legacy underscores the significance of what started as an accidental discovery.
