Most ingested button batteries pass spontaneously without intervention, says Catherine Farrow, but the position and condition of battery should be determined by X-ray without delay to ensure appropriate managment of the incident

There are many types of batteries designed to meet the individual power requirements of the vast array of battery-operated and mobile appliances available on the market. The term ‘battery’ is used here and throughout to describe a single cell, as opposed to its correct definition of a number of power cells connected together in series.