Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2021; 25(05): 639-640
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1736584
Preface

How to Report

James Francis Griffith
1   Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
› Author Affiliations

The radiology report is the showpiece of our profession. It is how we, as radiologists, convey findings found on imaging studies to referring clinicians and others involved in patient care. Increasingly, radiology reports are also read by allied medical personnel, such as physiotherapists, sports therapists, and nurses, as well as the patient and their friends and relatives.

Writing a radiology report is a process we learn and improve on during our careers, supervised by senior staff and peers. In doing so, we all develop our own personal style of report writing that we feel best conveys the clinically relevant findings as clearly and as succinctly as possible.

Radiology teaching tends to focus on teaching the patterns and imaging features of disease, enabling us to recognize and distinguish different disease entities on imaging studies. In contrast, relatively little time is spent on how to report these abnormalities. We need to learn on how to report these abnormalities. For example, what specific features should be reported? What wording should be used? What emphasis should be placed? How can one express uncertainty without sitting on the fence or alternatively convey certainty if findings are unequivocal?

This balance is something we address in this series of articles on “How to Report.” Each article relates to magnetic resonance imaging reporting of common joint conditions and follows a similar format. After some background information, the authors emphasize how to report these abnormalities, highlighting the features that should be reported and providing examples of terminology to describe these features. References are provided to help readers learn more about specific abnormalities.

I've wanted to undertake this “How to Report” project for many years, so I thank the editors and editorial team at Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology for providing this opportunity and their help in manuscript preparation. The series is designed to be read by trainee radiologists before or during their musculoskeletal radiology training. Some centers use a structured format as discussed in the introductory chapter by Ajay Kohli and colleagues. Others may use a hybrid prose report with specific subheadings or a fully prose report. Regardless of which format is used, the same basic objective applies: to communicate the findings and forward the message on as clearly and succinctly as possible.

My thanks and appreciation to all the authors for their willingness, enthusiasm, and hard work in preparing articles for this issue of Seminars and to other colleagues who read these articles before submission.



Publication History

Article published online:
03 December 2021

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