"The lateral wrist view is part of a three view series of the wrist and carpal bones. It is the orthogonal projection of the PA wrist."
"SID: 100 cm"
"The positioning of a lateral wrist radiograph has a barrage of academia attached to it, the central theme to that being, simply the pronation-supination movement of the wrist from a PA view to lateral does not result in an orthogonal view of the distal radioulnar joint."
"When the distal radioulnar joint undergoes pronation-supination at the wrist level the radius can undergo a rotation of up to 180° yet; the ulna will undergo limited to no movement within the arc of a circle. To translate this into everyday terms, isolated rotation at the wrist from the PA position means the radius moves around a stationary distal ulna, resulting in a lateral view of the distal radius but not the ulna."
"To overcome this, it is recommended you externally rotate the arm so the forearm is lateral (and the elbow joint is in AP) rather than simple pronation-supination at the wrist."
"Wrist radiographs are very common in emergency departments, and they are often associated with FOOSH injuries and be quite painful."
"When the distal radioulnar joint undergoes pronation-supination at the wrist level the radius can undergo a rotation of up to 180° yet; the ulna will undergo limited to no movement within the arc of a circle. To translate this into everyday terms, isolated rotation at the wrist from the PA position means the radius moves around a stationary distal ulna, resulting in a lateral view of the distal radius but not the ulna."
"When the distal radioulnar joint undergoes pronation-supination at the wrist level the radius can undergo a rotation of up to 180° yet; the ulna will undergo limited to no movement within the arc of a circle. To translate this into everyday terms, isolated rotation at the wrist from the PA position means the radius moves around a stationary distal ulna, resulting in a lateral view of the distal radius but not the ulna."
"There is a superimposition of the carpal bones, including the distal portion of the scaphoid and the pisiform. The radius and ulna are also superimposed. The ulnar styloid can be seen posterior."
"When the distal radioulnar joint undergoes pronation-supination at the wrist level the radius can undergo a rotation of up to 180° yet; the ulna will undergo limited to no movement within the arc of a circle. To translate this into everyday terms, isolated rotation at the wrist from the PA position means the radius moves around a stationary distal ulna, resulting in a lateral view of the distal radius but not the ulna."
"Due to the non-urgent nature of a "? Fractured wrist", patients will often be triaged to a lower category and left waiting for longer than multi-trauma patients; an understandable factor in emergency hospitals."
"It is important to remember this when examining your patient; it is easy to forget that simply lifting your hand up and placing it on an image receptor could result in substantial pain and more often than not the pain has not been addressed yet. Offer to move things around to assist in positioning, simple things like lowering/raising the table go a long way and result in a better experience for the patient."