From imaging to clinical judgment
Keywords:
primary care, clinical diagnosis, medical imagingAbstract
Introduction: Interpretation of radiographic density is an essential competency in medical education, particularly in contexts such as Cuba, where technological resources may be limited. Accurate interpretation of radiological images requires the integration of anatomical, physiological, and clinical knowledge from the early stages of medical training.
Objective: To analyze the main difficulties in the interpretation of radiographic density and contextualized pedagogical strategies among medical students.
Methods: A qualitative, descriptive-analytical study was conducted through a review of scientific literature in academic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and SciELO. The five basic types of radiographic density, their most frequent clinical applications, and common interpretation errors were reviewed. An integrative and updated approach was proposed to strengthen medical students’ training in the rational use of medical imaging.
Results: Students frequently experience difficulties such as errors of omission, overinterpretation of artifacts, poor clinical-radiological correlation, and limited exposure to high-quality images. These weaknesses are associated with fragmented teaching and technological limitations in the educational setting. To address these difficulties, teaching strategies were proposed to reinforce the learning of radiographic density.
Conclusions: The analysis of radiographic density among medical students reveals limitations in the theoretical-practical integration of fundamental concepts for diagnostic imaging interpretation. There is a need to strengthen teaching methodologies that promote radiological reasoning and decision-making based on physical parameters.
References
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Copyright (c) 2026 Lisbán Rodríguez López, Alexander Duràn Flores, Oneidis Durán Flores
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