Question:hard
Which of the following may be true in this patient
Which of the following may be true in this patient
Show Hint
A coin seen as a full circle on the AP film lies in the flat oesophagus, not the trachea.
Updated On: Jun 22, 2026
- Oesophagus is the correct site
- Most commonly in adult
- Mostly above cricoid
- Mediastinal infection not present
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Read this as a swallowed-coin radiograph and then test each statement for truth.
The film shows a circular metallic density (a coin) in the upper chest, seen as a full disc on the frontal view. A coin presents its broad face to the AP film when it lies in the oesophagus, because the oesophagus is a flat, antero-posteriorly compressed tube; a tracheal coin would line up edge-on (a thin sliver) because the trachea's incomplete cartilage rings keep it open side-to-side. So the round face here tells us the object sits in the oesophagus.
Now go statement by statement:
- "Oesophagus is the correct site" - consistent with the en-face coin orientation and with the usual impaction point at the cricopharyngeal narrowing (the commonest oesophageal foreign-body site). TRUE.
- "Most commonly in adult" - incorrect; coin/foreign-body ingestion peaks in toddlers and young children, not adults.
- "Mostly above cricoid" - incorrect; the foreign body lodges at the level of the cricopharyngeus/cricoid where the oesophagus begins, not above it.
- "Mediastinal infection not present" - incorrect as an absolute; a lodged or sharp foreign body can perforate and cause mediastinitis, a feared complication, so infection cannot be excluded.
The single statement that may be true is that the oesophagus is the correct site (option A).
The film shows a circular metallic density (a coin) in the upper chest, seen as a full disc on the frontal view. A coin presents its broad face to the AP film when it lies in the oesophagus, because the oesophagus is a flat, antero-posteriorly compressed tube; a tracheal coin would line up edge-on (a thin sliver) because the trachea's incomplete cartilage rings keep it open side-to-side. So the round face here tells us the object sits in the oesophagus.
Now go statement by statement:
- "Oesophagus is the correct site" - consistent with the en-face coin orientation and with the usual impaction point at the cricopharyngeal narrowing (the commonest oesophageal foreign-body site). TRUE.
- "Most commonly in adult" - incorrect; coin/foreign-body ingestion peaks in toddlers and young children, not adults.
- "Mostly above cricoid" - incorrect; the foreign body lodges at the level of the cricopharyngeus/cricoid where the oesophagus begins, not above it.
- "Mediastinal infection not present" - incorrect as an absolute; a lodged or sharp foreign body can perforate and cause mediastinitis, a feared complication, so infection cannot be excluded.
The single statement that may be true is that the oesophagus is the correct site (option A).
Was this answer helpful?
0
