Despite the rapid development of modern tomographic methods, projection radiography of the thoracic organs is an indispensible, efficient and relatively cost-effective routine clinical procedure. Of course, because of the unavoidable summation of all tissue structures in the radiation beam path on survey radiographs, the display of anatomical structures in the mediastinum as well as in the retrocardial and basal pulmonary segments is restricted. Nevertheless, radiography of the thoracic organs is the most frequent diagnostic imaging procedure in intensive care wards, and is called upon in the clinical assessment of the most serious progression of disease.