ARRT Thorax and Abdomen Procedures Practice Questions
Procedures · 20 of the 200 scored questions in ARRT’s content specifications
230 questions across all eight subcategories in 230 minutes, with a score for Thorax and Abdomen so you know where you stand.
Free Thorax and Abdomen drillWhich barium enema position best opens the left colic (splenic) flexure?
Thorax and Abdomen Procedures on the ARRT radiography exam
Thorax and Abdomen Procedures has 20 of the 200 scored questions in the Procedures category. Questions cover chest and bony thorax positioning, the acute abdomen series and the fluoroscopic GI studies, including patient preparation, the position that fills each part of the stomach or colon with barium or air, and what a correct image shows.
- Share of the exam
- 20 of the 200 scored questions now; 22 from March 1, 2027
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 47 Thorax and Abdomen questions, untimed, an explanation after every answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What Thorax and Abdomen Procedures questions test
- Chest: PA and lateral at 72 inches, inspiration, AP lordotic, supine and lateral decubitus for fluid and free air
- Ribs, sternum and sternoclavicular joints: above and below the diaphragm, obliques for axillary ribs, RAO sternum
- Soft tissue neck and upper airway
- Abdomen: supine, upright and decubitus projections for free air, and dorsal decubitus
- GI studies: esophagram, swallowing study, upper GI (RAO, PA, right lateral, LPO, AP), small bowel series, single- and double-contrast enema, surgical cholangiography and ERCP
Sit the full exam under the real clock
230 questions across all eight subcategories in 230 minutes, with a score for Thorax and Abdomen so you know where you stand.
Free Thorax and Abdomen drillHow to study it
- Learn where barium and air go in each position: prone and right-side-down positions fill the duodenum with barium; supine and left-side-down positions put air in the duodenum.
- Remember the chest checklist: 10 posterior ribs above the diaphragm, no rotation (clavicles equidistant from the spine), scapulae out of the lung fields.
- Use the left lateral decubitus abdomen to show free air under the right hemidiaphragm when the patient cannot stand.
- Take the thorax and abdomen drill and the positioning drill.
Common questions
What thorax procedures are added in 2027?
The specifications effective March 1, 2027 add foreign bodies (airway or ingested), the clavicle (moved into thorax), line placement with a C-arm such as PICC lines and feeding tube placement, and raise the section to 22 scored questions.
Why is the chest taken PA at 72 inches?
The longer SID reduces magnification of the heart and improves spatial resolution, and the PA projection puts the heart closer to the receptor, which reduces magnification further.
230 questions across all eight subcategories in 230 minutes, with a score for Thorax and Abdomen so you know where you stand.
Free Thorax and Abdomen drillThe other ARRT radiography content areas
Sources
- ARRT: Radiography Examination Content Specifications, in force through February 28, 2027 (PDF)
- ARRT: Radiography Examination Content Specifications, effective March 1, 2027 (PDF)
- ARRT: 2026 Primary Eligibility Pathway Handbook: exam format, scoring, exam window and attempts (PDF)
- ARRT: Fees
- ARRT: Annual Exam Report 2025: passing score and approximate percent correct (PDF)
- ARRT: Updated Radiography documents (May 1, 2026), changes effective March 1, 2027
- NCRP Report No. 116, Limitation of Exposure to Ionizing Radiation
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to the ARRT Radiography Examination Content Specifications, not ARRT exam questions. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) or Pearson VUE. ARRT and R.T. are trademarks of the ARRT.