Tufts Anatomy Yr-1
Followup Cases

65 year old female with left shoulder pain

You can count the number of posterior ribs visible above the diaphragms (which takes some practice) to estimate how deep a breath a patient has taken. For a normal deep breath, you should see 10 posterior ribs.

You can also get a rough estimate by looking to see if the lungs look longer (top to bottom) than wide.

Both measures in our patient (Image A and C) indicate a low level of inspiration, compared to a normal study (Image B and D).