Skillintermediate

Common DICOM Tags Reference

This document provides a comprehensive list of commonly used DICOM tags organized by category. Tags can be accessed in pydicom using attribute notation (e.g., `ds.PatientName`) or tag tuple notation (e.g., `ds[0x0010, 0x0010]`).

Claude Code Knowledge Pack7/10/2026

Overview

Common DICOM Tags Reference

This document provides a comprehensive list of commonly used DICOM tags organized by category. Tags can be accessed in pydicom using attribute notation (e.g., ds.PatientName) or tag tuple notation (e.g., ds[0x0010, 0x0010]).

Patient Information Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0010,0010)	PatientName	PN	Patient's full name
(0010,0020)	PatientID	LO	Primary identifier for the patient
(0010,0030)	PatientBirthDate	DA	Date of birth (YYYYMMDD)
(0010,0032)	PatientBirthTime	TM	Time of birth (HHMMSS)
(0010,0040)	PatientSex	CS	Patient's sex (M, F, O)
(0010,1010)	PatientAge	AS	Patient's age (format: nnnD/W/M/Y)
(0010,1020)	PatientSize	DS	Patient's height in meters
(0010,1030)	PatientWeight	DS	Patient's weight in kilograms
(0010,1040)	PatientAddress	LO	Patient's mailing address
(0010,2160)	EthnicGroup	SH	Ethnic group of patient
(0010,4000)	PatientComments	LT	Additional comments about patient

Study Information Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0020,000D)	StudyInstanceUID	UI	Unique identifier for the study
(0008,0020)	StudyDate	DA	Date study started (YYYYMMDD)
(0008,0030)	StudyTime	TM	Time study started (HHMMSS)
(0008,1030)	StudyDescription	LO	Description of the study
(0020,0010)	StudyID	SH	User or site-defined study identifier
(0008,0050)	AccessionNumber	SH	RIS-generated study identifier
(0008,0090)	ReferringPhysicianName	PN	Name of patient's referring physician
(0008,1060)	NameOfPhysiciansReadingStudy	PN	Name of physician(s) reading study
(0008,1080)	AdmittingDiagnosesDescription	LO	Diagnosis description at admission

Series Information Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0020,000E)	SeriesInstanceUID	UI	Unique identifier for the series
(0020,0011)	SeriesNumber	IS	Numeric identifier for this series
(0008,103E)	SeriesDescription	LO	Description of the series
(0008,0060)	Modality	CS	Type of equipment (CT, MR, US, etc.)
(0008,0021)	SeriesDate	DA	Date series started (YYYYMMDD)
(0008,0031)	SeriesTime	TM	Time series started (HHMMSS)
(0018,0015)	BodyPartExamined	CS	Body part examined
(0018,5100)	PatientPosition	CS	Patient position (HFS, FFS, etc.)
(0020,0060)	Laterality	CS	Laterality of paired body part (R, L)

Image Information Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0008,0018)	SOPInstanceUID	UI	Unique identifier for this instance
(0020,0013)	InstanceNumber	IS	Number that identifies this image
(0008,0008)	ImageType	CS	Image identification characteristics
(0008,0023)	ContentDate	DA	Date of content creation (YYYYMMDD)
(0008,0033)	ContentTime	TM	Time of content creation (HHMMSS)
(0020,0032)	ImagePositionPatient	DS	Position of image (x, y, z) in mm
(0020,0037)	ImageOrientationPatient	DS	Direction cosines of image rows/columns
(0020,1041)	SliceLocation	DS	Relative position of image plane
(0018,0050)	SliceThickness	DS	Slice thickness in mm
(0018,0088)	SpacingBetweenSlices	DS	Spacing between slices in mm

Pixel Data Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(7FE0,0010)	PixelData	OB/OW	Actual pixel data of the image
(0028,0010)	Rows	US	Number of rows in image
(0028,0011)	Columns	US	Number of columns in image
(0028,0100)	BitsAllocated	US	Bits allocated for each pixel sample
(0028,0101)	BitsStored	US	Bits stored for each pixel sample
(0028,0102)	HighBit	US	Most significant bit for pixel sample
(0028,0103)	PixelRepresentation	US	0=unsigned, 1=signed
(0028,0002)	SamplesPerPixel	US	Number of samples per pixel (1 or 3)
(0028,0004)	PhotometricInterpretation	CS	Color space (MONOCHROME2, RGB, etc.)
(0028,0006)	PlanarConfiguration	US	Color pixel data arrangement
(0028,0030)	PixelSpacing	DS	Physical spacing [row, column] in mm
(0028,0008)	NumberOfFrames	IS	Number of frames in multi-frame image
(0028,0034)	PixelAspectRatio	IS	Ratio of vertical to horizontal pixel

Windowing and Display Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0028,1050)	WindowCenter	DS	Window center for display
(0028,1051)	WindowWidth	DS	Window width for display
(0028,1052)	RescaleIntercept	DS	b in output = m*SV + b
(0028,1053)	RescaleSlope	DS	m in output = m*SV + b
(0028,1054)	RescaleType	LO	Type of rescaling (HU, etc.)
(0028,1055)	WindowCenterWidthExplanation	LO	Explanation of window values
(0028,3010)	VOILUTSequence	SQ	VOI LUT description

CT-Specific Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0018,0060)	KVP	DS	Peak kilovoltage
(0018,1030)	ProtocolName	LO	Scan protocol name
(0018,1100)	ReconstructionDiameter	DS	Diameter of reconstruction circle
(0018,1110)	DistanceSourceToDetector	DS	Distance in mm
(0018,1111)	DistanceSourceToPatient	DS	Distance in mm
(0018,1120)	GantryDetectorTilt	DS	Gantry tilt in degrees
(0018,1130)	TableHeight	DS	Table height in mm
(0018,1150)	ExposureTime	IS	Exposure time in ms
(0018,1151)	XRayTubeCurrent	IS	X-ray tube current in mA
(0018,1152)	Exposure	IS	Exposure in mAs
(0018,1160)	FilterType	SH	X-ray filter material
(0018,1210)	ConvolutionKernel	SH	Reconstruction algorithm

MR-Specific Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0018,0080)	RepetitionTime	DS	TR in ms
(0018,0081)	EchoTime	DS	TE in ms
(0018,0082)	InversionTime	DS	TI in ms
(0018,0083)	NumberOfAverages	DS	Number of times data was averaged
(0018,0084)	ImagingFrequency	DS	Frequency in MHz
(0018,0085)	ImagedNucleus	SH	Nucleus that is imaged (1H, etc.)
(0018,0086)	EchoNumbers	IS	Echo number(s)
(0018,0087)	MagneticFieldStrength	DS	Field strength in Tesla
(0018,0088)	SpacingBetweenSlices	DS	Spacing in mm
(0018,0089)	NumberOfPhaseEncodingSteps	IS	Number of encoding steps
(0018,0091)	EchoTrainLength	IS	Number of echoes in a train
(0018,0093)	PercentSampling	DS	Fraction of acquisition matrix sampled
(0018,0094)	PercentPhaseFieldOfView	DS	Ratio of phase to frequency FOV
(0018,1030)	ProtocolName	LO	Scan protocol name
(0018,1314)	FlipAngle	DS	Flip angle in degrees

File Meta Information Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0002,0000)	FileMetaInformationGroupLength	UL	Length of file meta information
(0002,0001)	FileMetaInformationVersion	OB	Version of file meta information
(0002,0002)	MediaStorageSOPClassUID	UI	SOP Class UID
(0002,0003)	MediaStorageSOPInstanceUID	UI	SOP Instance UID
(0002,0010)	TransferSyntaxUID	UI	Transfer syntax UID
(0002,0012)	ImplementationClassUID	UI	Implementation class UID
(0002,0013)	ImplementationVersionName	SH	Implementation version name

Equipment Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0008,0070)	Manufacturer	LO	Equipment manufacturer
(0008,0080)	InstitutionName	LO	Institution name
(0008,0081)	InstitutionAddress	ST	Institution address
(0008,1010)	StationName	SH	Equipment station name
(0008,1040)	InstitutionalDepartmentName	LO	Department name
(0008,1050)	PerformingPhysicianName	PN	Physician performing procedure
(0008,1070)	OperatorsName	PN	Operator name(s)
(0008,1090)	ManufacturerModelName	LO	Model name
(0018,1000)	DeviceSerialNumber	LO	Device serial number
(0018,1020)	SoftwareVersions	LO	Software version(s)

Timing Tags

Tag	Name	Type	Description
(0008,0012)	InstanceCreationDate	DA	Date instance was created
(0008,0013)	InstanceCreationTime	TM	Time instance was created
(0008,0022)	AcquisitionDate	DA	Date acquisition started
(0008,0032)	AcquisitionTime	TM	Time acquisition started
(0008,002A)	AcquisitionDateTime	DT	Acquisition date and time

DICOM Value Representations (VR)

Common value representation types used in DICOM:

AE: Application Entity (max 16 chars)
AS: Age String (nnnD/W/M/Y)
CS: Code String (max 16 chars)
DA: Date (YYYYMMDD)
DS: Decimal String
DT: Date Time (YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.FFFFFF&ZZXX)
IS: Integer String
LO: Long String (max 64 chars)
LT: Long Text (max 10240 chars)
PN: Person Name
SH: Short String (max 16 chars)
SQ: Sequence of Items
ST: Short Text (max 1024 chars)
TM: Time (HHMMSS.FFFFFF)
UI: Unique Identifier (UID)
UL: Unsigned Long (4 bytes)
US: Unsigned Short (2 bytes)
OB: Other Byte String
OW: Other Word String

Usage Examples

Accessing Tags by Name

patient_name = ds.PatientName
study_date = ds.StudyDate
modality = ds.Modality

Accessing Tags by Number

patient_name = ds[0x0010, 0x0010].value
study_date = ds[0x0008, 0x0020].value
modality = ds[0x0008, 0x0060].value

Checking if Tag Exists

if hasattr(ds, 'PatientName'):
    print(ds.PatientName)

# Or using 'in' operator
if (0x0010, 0x0010) in ds:
    print(ds[0x0010, 0x0010].value)

Safe Access with Default Value

patient_name = getattr(ds, 'PatientName', 'Unknown')
study_desc = ds.get('StudyDescription', 'No description')

References

DICOM Standard: https://www.dicomstandard.org/
DICOM Tag Browser: https://dicom.innolitics.com/ciods
Pydicom Documentation: https://pydicom.github.io/pydicom/