Radiology Spotters (Quiz) Cases to Ace your Board Exams

What are Radiology Spotters?

TL;DR: Jump to the list of case sets.

In the Indian Radiology Board exams for MD and DNB (and in a few more countries), residents are shown a “typical” or “Aunt Minnie” radiology image of a particular pathology and they are supposed to diagnose the case in the stipulated time (usually a minute). A similar pattern is also used for the FRCR exam where these are termed as “rapids”.  The same format has different names in other countries. Here is an example of a radiology spotter case :

What are recommended books for radiology spotter cases?

• RadCases
• Aunt Minnie’s Atlas and Imaging-Specific Diagnosis
• Top 3 Differentials in Radiology: A Case Review

Radiology Spotter Cases list

Each set has 10 Aunt-Minnie cases in a quiz format timed for one minute followed by answers and relevant discussion. Sign up here to access.

• Spotters Set 1
• Spotters Set 2
• Spotters Set 3
• Spotters Set 4
• Spotters Set 5
• Spotters Set 6- MSK special set!
• Spotters Set 7
• Spotters Set 8
• Genitourinary Radiology Cases – Spotter Set 9
• Spotters Set 10
• Spotters Set 11
• Spotters Set 12
• Spotters Set 13
• Spotters set 14
• Spotters set 15
• Spotters set 16
• Spotters set 17
• Spotters set 18 – Body Imaging Special !
• Spotters set 19 – Plain film special!
• Spotters set 20 – Fetal Ultrasound Special!
• Spotters set 21 – Plain Film Special!
• Spotters Set 22 – Obstetrics Gynecology Ultrasound (OBGY) special set!
• Spotters Set 23
• Spotters set 24
• Spotters set 25
• Spotters set 26 – Neuroradiology special set!
• Spotters set 27 – Neuroradiology Cases!
• Spotters set 28 – 10 interesting Radiology Cases!
• Spotters set 29 – 10 learning Radiology spotters!
• Spotters set 30 – Excellent MSK MRI teaching cases !
• Spotters set 31 – 10 MUST KNOW Bone Tumors for Radiology Residents!
• Spotters set 31A with MRI- 10 MUST KNOW Bone Tumors for Radiology Residents!
• Spotters Set 32 – 10 Interesting Radiology Cases!
• Spotters Set 33 – Aunt Minnie Chest Radiology Cases!
• Spotters set 34 – Radiology Cases Quiz
• Spotters Set 35 – Interventional radiology wires and catheters!
• Spotters set 36 – Normal anatomy variants radiology
• Spotters set 37 – Aunt Minnie Radiology Cases!
• Spotters set 38 – Radiology Cases Quiz 2!
• Spotters set 39 – Radiology Cases Quiz 3!
• Spotters set 40 – Radiology Artifacts
• Spotters set 41- Aunt Minnie Radiology Cases 2 !
• Spotters set 42 – Learning Radiology Spotters 2
• Spotters Set 43 – Classic Radiology Cases!
• Spotters Set 44 – Aunt Minnie Radiology Cases 3
• Spotters Set 45 – Interesting Radiology Cases 2
• Spotters Set 46 – Radiology cases quiz 4
• Spotters Set 47 – Aunt Minnie Radiology Cases 4
• Spotters Set 48 – MRI spine cases
• Spotters Set 49 – Interesting Radiology Cases 3
• Spotters Set 50 – Learning Radiology Cases
• Spotters Set 51 – Radiology Cases Quiz 5
• Spotters Set 52 – Interesting Radiology cases 4
• Spotters Set 53 – MSK MRI cases
• Spotters Set 54 – Learning Radiology Cases 2
• Spotters Set 55 – Interesting Radiology Cases 5
• Spotters Set 56 – Classic Radiology Cases 2
• Spotters Set 57 – Classic Radiology Cases 3
• Spotters Set 58 – Interesting Radiology Cases 6
• Spotters Set 59 – Neuroradiology cases
• Spotters Set 60 – Learning Radiology Cases 3
• Spotters Set 61 – Radiology Board Review Cases
• Spotters Set 62 – Radiology Board Review Cases 2
• Spotters Set 63 – Radiology Quiz Cases
• Spotters Set 64 – Radiology Spotters
• Spotters Set 65 – Radiology Spotters
• Spotters Set 66 – Radiology Spotters Kahoot!
• Spotters Set 67 – Spot the Fracture | Plain Film Special Set
• Spotters Set 68 – Classic Radiology Cases
• Spotters Set 69 – Radiology Spotters Kahoot!
• Spotters Set 70 – Radiology Kahoot
• Spotters Set 71 – Body Imaging Cases
• Spotters Set 72 – Mixed Bag Cases
• Spotters Set 73 – Neuroradiology Cases
• Spotters Set 74 – Mixed Bag Radiology Cases
• Spotters Set 75 – Mixed Bag Radiology Cases

Free Radiology Spotter Case set [WITH Video Explaination]: 

Spotter Set 23 – Body Radiology Cases

General instructions, tips, and common mistakes while attempting radiology spotters cases:

• Spotters are important components of the radiology practical exams and if you score well in spotters you have won half the battle. 
• Although this is not the best way to evaluate the caliber of a student because when you will be reporting it will rarely happen that you will get these “typical” Aunt-Minnie cases. Plus no one would be standing with a gun to your head to diagnose cases in a minute. Read this excellent article by Dr. Ravi Ramakantan on this topic – Spot the spot! All said and done, that’s how our system is and you have no other option
• All said and done spotters do help in learning radiology. Often you will be able to diagnose a particular case because you have seen it somewhere as a spotter. We have made a collection of radiology exam spotters. Browse through this radiology spotters list and revise it before your practical exams as well.
• RadCases series has good section-wise radiology spotter books.
• A tip on attempting radiology spotters cases is to stick to the first answer that strikes you. You will be right in most cases, provided you have studied well and attempted lots of spotters.
• Each post has 10 radiology spotters cases.
• Most of the spotters are straightforward.
• Spotters slides will advance automatically at the end of a minute.
• These are best viewed on a desktop, preferably in full-screen mode. On a mobile phone use it in the full-screen mode by clicking on the icon at the bottom right of the presentation and turn on auto-rotate!
• Best way to attempt is to write down answers on a piece of paper and then check them at the end of the presentation.
• Answer slides are at the end of each presentation and below the PowerPoint slides.
• Attempt these as you would attempt in the final exam.
• Few answers are accompanied by links to individual cases if you wish to read more about these.
• Get into the practice of writing COMPLETE answers for all spotters so that you do not commit silly mistakes in the exam. For eg “Osteosarcoma involving the right distal femur” is a better answer than just writing “osteosarcoma”.
• DO NOT use abbreviations even during practice. I can understand that during practice it is cumbersome to write the complete diagnosis but you should attempt this at least as you approach your exams. This is important because your answer might be right but you will lose marks because you wrote the abbreviation. Also, we assume that we will be able to write the full form in the exams, but this is not always true. It hurts the most when you know the diagnosis and still get the answer wrong.

For eg. Check this case from Dr. Sanjay sir’s telegram group

All of the students got it right. I attempted to write the complete diagnosis and had to Google it (Total Anomalous Pulmonary Return/ circulation)!. In the above case, an even more accurate answer is Supracardiac  Total Anomalous Pulmonary Return/ circulation. I know this is silly but I am sure that a lot of us will face this problem in the exams. Here are similar mistakes that I have committed while attempting spotters. FCD: Fibrous cortical DEFECT in bone; Fibrous cortical DYSPLASIA in the brain. GCT: GIANT Cell tumor in bone; GERM Cell tumor in the mediastinum.

In this case, all the students answered correctly as nephrocalcinosis, but the answer is partially right because there are two types of nephrocalcinosis, medullary and cortical. The ideal answer would have been bilateral medullary calcinosis. P.S. You SHOULD join Dr. Sanjay Sir’s telegram cases for daily spotter cases. Send him a personal message on Telegram: Sanjay P Yadav We also share cases on our radiology telegram group and radiology telegram channel

• Utilize the entire one minute for each slide. Get it into this habit right from the start. No point in rushing into the diagnosis. You are not going to get extra marks for attempting a spotter in 30 seconds!
• Make a note of all the cases you are not able to diagnose while solving cases. You can go through this list a few days before the exam while commuting. Google Keep is a good note keeping app as it integrates with your mail account.
• These cases are also useful for preparing for the FRCR exam, North American radiology board exams and other competitive exams like the EdiR and RANZR.
• If you have any suggestions/ corrections or wish to submit a case, you can contact us.

More cases can be accessed on the following pages :

1. Radiology Case of the Day Collection
2. Radiology Cases: Detailed cases with discussion and high-yield points.
3. RadioGyan YouTube Channel.

Also, read the following resources for exam going residents:

Tips and Tricks for DNB/MD Radiology Practical Exam