To minimize exposure to non-target tissues, the exposure field should be matched to which of the following?

• A. Anatomy of interest
• B. Field of view
• C. Detector size
• D. Patient size

Answer: (A)

The key idea is beam restriction: you minimize dose to non-target tissues by collimating the X-ray field to the anatomy that needs imaging. When the exposure field is matched to the anatomy of interest, only that region is irradiated, reducing incidental exposure to surrounding tissues and lowering scatter that can degrade image quality. This approach directly limits the integral dose to the patient while keeping the area of interest properly imaged. While concepts like field of view, detector size, or patient size can influence setup, the practice that most effectively spares non-target tissues is aligning the exposure field with the anatomy you’re imaging.