Radiology has grown from its traditional domain, concentrating on roentgenography and plain films, to include computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and invasive and therapeutic procedures. Radiologists of the 1950s and 1960s have exchanged their red goggles for the electronic workstations of today.
Film is no longer the necessary medium for image display.
Plain films have taken a back seat to complex multiplanar images. Technological refinements allow earlier and more expeditious diagnosis, and findings are more precise. Radiologists have moved into the forefront of primary patient care. Unfortunately, these exponential changes occurred, in large part, within the medical imaging community without adequate thought to educating our clinical colleagues. There are few reviews in primary care journals by radiologists discussing imaging's new capabilities.