Disease and nonbattle injury in the combat zone

Given the current tempo of military operations in the global war on terror, the military radiologist must be prepared to diagnose surgical and medical conditions. The imaging of blunt and penetrating trauma remains the critical mission. However, a more challenging part of the day's work involves the imaging of medical diseases encountered in the third world. The majority of such entities are infectious in nature, but unusual presentations of congenital diseases are common. It is important for the deployed radiologist to have knowledge of diseases and conditions not ordinarily seen in the USA and to have a high index of suspicion for unusual processes.