Underexposure of a radiograph can be caused by all of the following except:

Underexposure of a radiograph occurs when the image receptor does not receive enough radiation to produce a diagnostic image. This can be influenced by several factors, including the milliampere-seconds (mA), exposure time, and kilovoltage peak (kVp).

Insufficient mA refers to the quantity of radiation being generated. If the mA setting is too low, there may not be enough photons produced to adequately expose the film or digital detector, resulting in an underexposed image.

Insufficient exposure time is also critical because if the time the x-ray beam is allowed to expose the image receptor is too short, it can lead to reduced radiation exposure, again resulting in an underexposed image.

Insufficient kVp relates to the quality of the x-ray beam. A low kVp restricts the penetrating power of the x-rays, meaning fewer photons can penetrate the object being imaged effectively. This can lead to decreased exposure and potentially an underexposed image as well.

However, insufficient focal film distance (FFD), also known as Source-to-Image Distance (SID), generally affects image magnification and detail rather than directly correlating with underexposure. While an increased distance could lead to a slight reduction in intensity (due