Purpose and Structures Shown An additional view to demonstrate the dens and atlas through the foramen magnum. The mandible, cranium, and vertebrae should be symmetric. The dens should be clearly demonstrated in the foramen magnum. The patient is asked to suspend respiration when the exposure is taken. Position of part The gonads are shielded. The neck is extended until the tips of the chin and mastoid process are oriented vertically. A support may be placed under the knees for comfort. The patient’s arms are placed by the side of the body and the shoulders are flat on the table. The midsagittal plane of the body is centered and perpendicular to the grid. This position is NOT to be attempted in patients with fracture or degenerative disease of the upper cervical spine. Purpose and Structures Shown An additional view to demonstrate the dens in the foramen magnum. The patient should be asked to stop breathing when the exposure is taken. Position of part Remove necklaces, hair grips, and anything else from the hair. This view is used in patients who cannot sit due to injuries. Purpose and Structures Shown An additional view of the cervical spine for patients with injuries. Video Credit : Jocelyn Caldwell Cervical Spine AP Supine The patient should be turned to the other side for the other oblique view and the process repeated. The patient should be positioned so that he or she is at a 45-degree angle to the cassette holder. Purpose and Structures Shown An additional view of the cervical spine. Video Credit : CentralazRAD Cervical Spine Oblique In uninjured patients, a 1 kg (2 lb) weight should be placed in each hand. The arms should be by the sides and the shoulders should be as low as possible.
The patient should be positioned with the shoulder against the cassette holder. The knob at the back of the head should be at the same level as the lower jaw (chin). The patient should be asked to place the chin against the cassette holder. Purpose and Structures Shown A basic view of the cervical spine. The density should be appropriate with soft tissues and bony structures well visualized. Radiologists consider a cervical spine X-ray to be of good quality when the lateral view shows all 7 cervical vertebrae plus the C7-T1 junction. Cervicothoracic Region Lateral Twinning Method.I think they are really helpful.This article discusses radiographic positioning of the cervical spine for the Radiologic Technologist (X-Ray Tech). So if you ask the MRI facility that you normally use or you have one yourself, I would really suggest distinguishing yourself from the rest of the units in your area by supplying oblique MRI views of the cervical spine. I think this is a much better representation of the size and how much this disc extrusion occupies the foraminal canal than a standard axial view. And if we take a look at the obliques of the foraminal canal, this is given a much larger appearance of the disc extrusion, and where we’re going to see it located is right there. Now look at how much larger this appears here at the 5/6th level with the oblique views.
Let’s just take a look and see what happens when we take a look at an oblique picture. So I don’t think this is such a great revelation in terms of what’s happening in the Foraminal Canal. The radiologists have better equipment and magnification and resolution than I do on this reader, but I have probably the typical kind of reader that most of you all might have as well. And if you keep going again, everything sort of disappears. We can see it’s again smaller, but not really that big. We take a look at the axial slice, and we don’t really get a great sense of how big it is here. However, if you go to the sides, for example, we can see this protrusion here. Well, it’s got a little bit of protrusion and maybe a little indentation of the myelin, but nothing to write home about. In this case, we have a definite protrusion at cervical 5/6, and we can see it’s here, but we don’t really get a true sense of dimension using the the axial slices. One of the challenges when looking at cervical MRIs is really getting a proper look at the foraminal canals, particularly at the cervical levels 3/4 4/5 5/6, and even 6/7.