Before entering into details on this subject I would like to stress the basic importance of organising the radiological procedure. We cannot expect much in this field of diagnosis if some main requirements are not fulfilled. The X-ray department should preferably be placed close to the surgical department, so that the patients can be easily transported and examined without delay, and so that the surgeon can go to the X-ray department and discuss the findings with the radiologist as soon as the examination is finished. All the films must be ready for a closer study and hung up for demonstration in a “wet-reading room”.As the surgeon becomes familiar with the examination he will send most abdominal emergencies for X-ray examination, thereby also improving the results, keeping the radiologist in constant training and giving him further experience.The larger emergency hospitals receive many of these patients, and from these centres knowledge and experience should be gained and then spread to smaller hospitals where such cases are not so often encountered.Evidently, the value of radiology in acute abdominal conditions must be considered in relation to and compared with, the clinical examination. Although “acute abdomen” usually means both emergency and surgery, we should not forget that such cases are seen also in medical wards.