ARRT Radiography curriculum
The complete ARRT Radiography Boards curriculum, in plain English.
27 chapters built straight from the ARRT 2025 Content Specifications. Free chapter summaries, a sample question for every exam category, and the full 325-lesson program inside the app.
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The 4 ARRT exam domains
The ARRT Radiography exam blueprint splits into four content domains. Every chapter on this page maps to one of them, and to one or more of the 8 ARRT subcategories used on the registry.
Patient Care
Patient interactions, communication, infection control, monitoring, and emergency response. Roughly 23% of the ARRT exam.
4 chapters
Foundations of Practice
Patient rights, legal duties, and ARRT ethics rules every radiographer must know. The four conditions of valid consent, the four elements of negligence, and the duty-to-report rules.
Read chapter overview →Patient Communication and Care
Two-factor patient identification, vital sign normal ranges, body mechanics, transfers, and communication for the ARRT Radiography exam.
Read chapter overview →Infection Control
Hand hygiene, Standard Precautions, transmission-based precautions, sterile technique, and the cycle of infection for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Emergencies
Iodinated contrast reactions (mild, moderate, severe), oxygen delivery, syncope, seizure, anaphylaxis, and the radiographer's emergency response for the ARRT exam.
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Image Production
Technical factors, image quality, equipment operation, digital workflow, and quality control. Roughly 27% of the ARRT exam.
10 chapters
Image Acquisition
kVp, mAs, collimation, filtration, AEC, and the technical factors that produce a diagnostic image at minimum dose for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Recorded Detail and Image Foundations
Focal spot size, motion blur, magnification (SID/OID), and the foundational quality checklist that determines diagnostic image quality for the ARRT.
Read chapter overview →Pathology, Artifacts, and Processor Errors
Additive and destructive pathology, common artifacts (motion, double exposure, grid cutoff), and processor errors for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →X-Ray Tube and Equipment
X-ray tube anatomy (anode, cathode, target), photon interactions, heat unit calculations, and the anode heel effect for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →X-Ray Circuit and Fluoroscopy
Transformer types (autotransformer, step-up, step-down), rectification, the image intensifier, ABS, and digital fluoroscopy for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Radiography Quality Control
kVp accuracy (±5%), timer accuracy, focal spot size, beam alignment, AEC reproducibility, and the QC schedule for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Image Quality and Technical Factors
Density, contrast, recorded detail, distortion (size, shape), the four image-quality factors and how mAs/kVp/distance/grid affect each for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Density, Contrast, Screens, and Grids
Intensifying screens, grid ratios, grid frequency, Bucky factor, off-center/off-level/off-focus grid errors for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Computed Radiography and Digital Workflow
Photostimulable phosphor (PSP), CR readers, histogram analysis, windowing, and post-processing for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Image Evaluation and Grid Artifacts
Image evaluation criteria (positioning, technical factors, anatomy, no artifacts), grid errors, and the systematic approach to image critique for the ARRT.
Read chapter overview → Radiographic Procedures
Positioning, anatomy, and projections for the entire body. Roughly 30% of the ARRT exam.
10 chapters
Positioning Foundations
Anatomic position, body planes (sagittal, coronal, transverse), projection vs. position, and the standard radiographic terminology that drives every exam on the ARRT.
Read chapter overview →Upper Extremity Positioning
Standard projections for the hand, wrist, elbow, humerus, shoulder, and clavicle. Routine views, special projections (Stecher, scaphoid, AP axial clavicle), and pathology for the ARRT exam.
Read chapter overview →Lower Extremity Positioning
Standard projections for the foot, ankle, knee, femur, and hip. Routine views, special projections (Holmblad, Camp-Coventry, Settegast), and common pathology for the ARRT.
Read chapter overview →Trauma Radiography
Trauma protocols, fracture terminology, the Don't Move Rule, and adaptive projections (cross-table lateral, Danelius-Miller) for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Spine and Bony Thorax Positioning
Cervical, thoracic, lumbar spine projections, the Scotty Dog (oblique L-spine), trauma C-spine, sternum, and ribs for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Skull, Face, and TMJ Positioning
The workhorse skull projections (Caldwell, Towne, Waters, SMV, Schueller, Law), cranial baselines, and facial bone routines for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Paranasal Sinus Radiography
The four-view sinus series, Caldwell, Waters, lateral, SMV, and the erect/horizontal-beam rule for demonstrating air-fluid levels for the ARRT exam.
Read chapter overview →Chest X-Ray
PA and lateral chest, lordotic, decubitus, and the quality criteria (10 ribs, no rotation, sharp diaphragm, scapulae out) for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →GI and Hepatobiliary Procedures
Upper GI series, barium enema, IVU, contrast choices (positive, negative, water-soluble), and patient prep for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Myelography, Cardiac Cath, Angiography, Venography for the ARRT
Myelography, cardiac catheterization, aortography, angiography, and venography techniques for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
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Safety
Radiation physics, biology, protection practices, and personal dosimetry. Roughly 20% of the ARRT exam.
3 chapters
Radiation Physics and Radiobiology
Photon production, characteristic and bremsstrahlung radiation, photon interactions (photoelectric, Compton), and the cellular effects of ionizing radiation for the ARRT.
Read chapter overview →Radiation Protection
Time, distance, shielding, the inverse square law, ALARA, dose limits (5 rem/year occupational), and lead apron requirements for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Personal Dosimetry and Fluoroscopy Protection for the ARRT
TLD and OSL badges, fluoroscopy protection (lead apron, distance, foot pedal), mobile protection, and units of dose for the ARRT Radiography Boards.
Read chapter overview →Ready to read all 325 lessons?
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