cervical spine oblique x ray positioning

Oblique positions are determined by the right or left side of the patient and the anterior or posterior surface being closest to the film. The side (right or left) closest to the film is always marked. It doesn't matter which way you choose to perform the view as long as you are consistent and label them to identify which foramina or facet is closest to the film. There are two ways to perform oblique positions in a cervical or lumbar series: anterior to posterior and posterior to anterior. The lateral view of an extremity should of course be labeled the same as the AP. With larger structures such as the knee, for example, the condyle closest to the film is the smallest.Īgain, however, lateral views of the spine are not labeled as to which side is closest to the film. The side that is closest to the film is the side that has the least distortion, but that is difficult to see when the structures are small. In the lateral projection of the axial skeleton, the sides are not generally labeled because it is too difficult to see the difference.

In the AP projection, it is obvious that only right or left needs to be labeled. I'm here to remind you to label your patients' films right and left. I think the results might not reflect well on our profession. This might actually be an interesting study for ChiroPoll, but I do not want to know the actual numbers. In my own private study, questioning my colleagues and clients, almost a third of us (maybe more) do not take the time to label films. I know every one of us would agree, but not everyone does it. When films are sent out of our office for any reason, it is very helpful to have right/left labels on the film. We tend to forget that not everyone puts an ID marker in the left-hand corner of the file, or that doctors always take posterior obliques of the cervical spine. It certainly helps to label the right side from the left when performing studies of the spine or any extremity.

Cervical spine oblique x ray positioning