The radiologist acts as a true consultant; physicians rather than patients are the direct clients of radiologists. Whereas nearly all other doctors see and treat patients directly, radiologists and pathologists are once removed; they take the patient's data but interpret it for other doctors. On this rotation, I've realized that this role means radiologists know an impressive amount about general medicine and surgery. Simply from images, they can generate a rich differential diagnosis of what might be going on, offer opinions on what treatment modalities may be most appropriate, and make suggestions on further studies to better define the problem. They have knowledge about every part of the body in a way that few other specialties do, from bone to brain to bowel to bladder. I've really been struck by the amount of stuff that a radiologist needs to know.
Image of a magnetic resonance imaging angiography shown under GNU Free Documentation License, from Wikipedia.
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