The big picture. lung cancer is the top cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. but this wasn't always the case. prior to the widespread use of mechanical cigarette rollers, lung cancer was. Inside the chest cavity, the vertebral column can be seen down the middle of the chest, splitting it nearly in equal halves. on each side of the midline, the dark appearing lung fields are seen. the white shadow of the heart is in the middle of the field, atop the diaphragm and more to the left side. the trachea (wind pipe), aorta (main blood vessel exiting the heart), and the esophagus descend down the middle, overlapping the vertebral column. Some of the common conditions that can be evaluated by a chest x-ray tests are pneumonia, congestive heart failure, emphysema, lung mass or lung nodule, tuberculosis, fluid around the lung (pleural effusion), unhealthy lungs x ray images fracture of the vertebrae (bones of the back), rib fractures, or cardiomegaly, or enlarged heart. A chest x-ray ...