PROBLEM
A 50-year-old man presents to your emergency department complaining of pain in his right hip. When a plain film is obtained, calcifications are visible in the soft tissue medial to the femoral neck. Based on this finding, what is your diagnosis?

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ANSWER
The calcifications are venous thrombi in the femoral vein. Note their nodular configuration, which is quite different from the linear, even formation seen in a case of arterial calcification.

This series of diagnostic quizzes that challenge your ability to read a variety of x-ray films is edited by Dr. Keats, alumni professor of radiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville. Emerg Med 39(10):67-8, 2007