RETICULATION

A reticulated film appears as a network of wrinkles or corrugations on the emulsion of the x-ray film. When reticulation occurs, the finished film has a netlike or puckered appearance resulting from swelling of the film's gelatin. Swelling is caused by sudden changes in temperature during processing, as in the transfer from a cool fixing bath to warm wash water or from a warm rinse water to a cool fixing bath.