Double focus x-ray tube
European, 1896
Wilhelm Rontgen, a German physician, took the first x-ray in
1896 of his wife's left hand. Very quickly x-rays proved their
usefulness as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool in medicine. For
example, within six months of Rontgen's announcement x-rays were
being used by battlefield physicians to locate bullets in wounded
soldiers. X-rays allowed physicians their first non-invasive look
inside the human body.