What type of contrast does lower kilovoltage produce in an AP abdomen?

Lower kilovoltage settings in x-ray imaging result in short-scale contrast. This is because lower kV increases the amount of contrast between structures of different densities within the body. With reduced kilovoltage, the x-ray beam becomes less penetrating, leading to greater absorption of low-density tissues and finer distinctions between various tissue types. As a result, you can see a more pronounced difference in brightness and density on the radiographic image, which is characteristic of short-scale contrast.

This short-scale contrast is especially important in abdominal imaging, where differentiating between various soft tissues, fluids, and potential pathologies can provide critical diagnostic information. Higher kilovoltage, in contrast, would produce more uniform penetration of the x-ray beam across different tissue types, resulting in a long-scale contrast that shows more gradual changes in density and less differentiation between structures.