Radiology is a tough subject to learn. From the complex biophysics behind the techniques, to the confusing new language you’re expected to use describing them, there’s a lot to figure out.
Thankfully there’s a heap of free radiology learning websites that can help.
Perfect for beginners (and beyond), each of these serves as a great introduction (and learning) resource for your radiology rotations, electives or whatever else!
Before we cover each of these more in-depth, here’s what I feel are the best ones:
- Learning Radiology
- Geeky Medics Radiology Tutorials
- Radiology Cafe
- Radiopaedia.org
- Radiology Master Class
- Start Radiology
- WikiEm
As a med student who took (and successfully passed) their radiology internal exams last semester, I got a lot of value from these sites!
Ready to learn more about each? Let’s go.
List of the Best Free Radiology Learning Websites
Learning Radiology
Learning Radiology is the companion website to the commonly recommended Herring’s Learning Radiology textbook.
This is the book I used most intensively in my own radiology rotation, namely because it’s explanations are so clear and well organized.
The website is a treasure trove of free info cribbed from the book, including:
- Powerpoint style presentations (running in your web browser)
- Images and content on every area of radiology (X-rays, MRI, CT, Ultrasound and more)
- Over 20 interactive quizzes
A great starting point on your journey to learning radiology!
Geeky Medics Interpretation Tutorials
Geeky Medics have very well-written, comprehensive and excellently formatted tutorials that are accessible and written by radiologist and radiology trainees.
The content points out the most high-yield points to look for in each imaging section and summarizes everything neatly at the end.
There are articles on the following topics:
- Ankle X-ray
- Cervical spine X-ray
- CT head interpretation
- The basics of MRI
- Chest X-ray
The site is continually being updated so definitely bookmark it!
Radiology Cafe
Radiology Cafe is a top resource for qualified doctors preparing for residency or specialist training.
For med students (or people new to radiology), it’s home to a fantastic free tutorial series under its “Radiology Basics” section.
Featuring free cross-sectional imaging and an e-learning platform, the content covers:
- Imaging modalities
- Head and spine
- Chest
- Abdomen
My top tip is to move through the content systematically, finishing up with the very useful quiz sections for each.
The concepts tested here were very similar to my own school’s finals!
Related: Interested in radiology as a career? Check out our article; 5 Best Radiology Residency Programs
Radiopaedia.org
Radiopaedia is like Wikipedia for radiographic imaging. It’s vast.
Home to thousands of articles covering every imaginable topic, it’s best used as a reference guide rather than as a primary source of learning material.
Use this once you’ve covered the basics and are looking for more in-depth info on particular areas.
Radiology Master Class
Radiology Master Class was one of my first go-to learning resources on my way to passing my radiology elective.
Starting with the tutorials, and then doing the quizzes for each, is a great way to spend a couple of hours.
Here’s what they cover:
- Chest X-ray
- CT Brain
- Trauma X-ray
- General musculoskeletal
- Abdominal X-ray
- General Radiology
The tutorials have interactive images you can pan over that then reveal the explained features. Each page is designed nicely into key points and quick take-aways which really help teach the fundamentals.
Make sure you finish up by doing all the Test Yourself OSCE Scenarios to fully master the content.
StartRadiology
StartRadiology is the perfect introductory radiology education site. Starting at the basics section, and taking your time to read over the content and pan over the interactive images, is the best way to start. That runs through the following:
- The basic radiological examination
- Fracture general principles
- Ultrasound technique
- MRI technique
- X-ray/CT technique
- Radiation
Started by Dutch musculoskeletal radiologist Annelies van der Plas, StartRadiology is a non-profit initiative developed to transfer knowledge. The site’s categorization into internship/rotations also show you all the radiographic stuff you’ll need for each.
The quizzes and case studies are another excellent resource.
WikiEM
WikiEM describes itself as the “world’s largest and most popular emergency medicine open-access reference resource.”
What’s great about it in terms of learning radiology is it’s organization. It’s broken down by categories (and pathologies) that you can quickly reference.
Major diseases are presented quickly and neatly with their radiographic images alongside. Having everything in place like this makes for a very convenient review!
Related Questions
Are these radiology resources good for medical students?
The above websites are all amazing resources for medical students. The tutorials cover the fundamentals of each organ system and cover what you’ll need to know on your radiology electives/rotations in med school.
My particular favorite (the one I used most) was Radiology Master Class, Learning Radiology and Radiology Cafe. The quizzes here are extremely valuable for testing core concepts and helping reinforce what you learn.
Find your knowledge gaps by starting with these quizzes and then looking up anything you’re unsure of.
Where can I learn radiology basics?
Probably the best place to learn the basics is with the beginner tutorials at Radiology Master Class and Learning Medicine.
The content here takes a couple hours maximum to get through and gives a strong broad introduction to the topic.
What about paid resources?
In addition to these free sites (some of which offer premium access), there’s several great paid radiology learning resources out there too.
One that comes highly recommended is Teach Me Radiology. The courses here are structured, containing weekly lab sessions, interactive lessons, midterms and final exams. Ranging between $15 and $50, the different courses offered (including OSCE prep) are very cost effective.
Are these good radiology resources for residents?
Radiopaedia.org is probably a better resource for residents than any of the others on this list. That’s because it acts as a huge library of information and case studies submitted (and edited) by radiologist doctors themselves. With thousands of cases, it’s very likely the information you’re searching for can be found here.
Radiology Cafe is another top resource.
How can I best memorize the core concepts of radiology?
As I always recommend, you’ll want to understand the concepts first before attempting to memorize.
My favorite tools for memorization are digital flaschcard apps like Anki. I’ve covered the most popular premade radiology anki decks here.
Other than that, running through the tutorials on the sites above and quizzing yourself repeatedly (an important active recall technique) should go a long way!
Summary
There’s no need to really invest in textbooks or specialized teaching courses when it comes to learning the basics of radiology.
The excellent websites above are all free, ready to use and (across all of them) cover absolutely everything you’ll ever need.
The free quizzes will be excellent prep for any exams too!
Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.