If a radiographic image is overexposed, which change should be made to correct it?

When a radiographic image is overexposed, it indicates that too much radiation has reached the film or digital detector, resulting in a darker image with less detail. To correct this, reducing the milliampere-seconds (mAs) is the appropriate action. The mAs directly controls the quantity of radiation produced; therefore, decreasing it will reduce the exposure the film receives. As a result, this adjustment will lighten the image and improve the visibility of details.

This method is effective because mAs determines the overall density of the radiographic image—lowering it decreases the amount of x-ray photons that pass through the patient and reach the image receptor, effectively correcting the overexposure.

In contrast, other options, such as increasing mAs or exposure time, would further increase the radiation exposure, likely worsening the overexposure issue. Decreasing kVp would also reduce the penetrating power of the x-rays and might lead to underexposure, which isn't a solution for an overexposed image.