Which projection of the nasal bones will demonstrate medial or lateral displacement of fragments?

Citation, DOI & article data

Citation:

Er, A., Murphy, A. Nasal bones (lateral view). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org. (accessed on 08 Sep 2022) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-85033

The lateral nasal bones view is a nonangled lateral radiograph showcasing two small oblong bones situated side by side, together forming the nasal ridge.

On this page:

This view is often primarily used in assessing various nasal bone fractures in the trauma setting. Depending on the department, this view may be done bilaterally (for comparison of affected versus unaffected side) or unilaterally (only affected side).

• rest the lateral aspect of the patient's head (with the side of interest) against the image detector
• adjust the head into a true lateral position, with the midsagittal plane (Figure 1) parallel to the image detector
• for patient's comfort, adjust the patient's body into an oblique position

• lateral projection
• centering point
  • 1.25 cm inferior to nasion
• collimation
  • within 5 cm of the nasal bones on all sides 1
• orientation  
  • for unilateral side: portrait
  • for bilateral side: landscape
• detector size
  • 24 cm x 18 cm
• exposure
  • 60-70 kVp
  • 5-10 mAs
• SID
  • 100 cm
• grid
  • no

• nasal bones with soft tissue nasal structure, frontonasal suture (superior) and anterior nasal spine should be demonstrated
• nasal bones should be seen with no rotation

• remove glasses and nose piercings to avoid artefact obscuring important pathology
• this view should not replace a lateral facial bones x-ray
  • as this projection is often requested together with a facial bones series 3, there may be the temptation to combine the request and only image a lateral facial bones x-ray as per ALARA. However, nasal bones and their soft tissue nasal structures are less dense compared to the denser facial bones and should hence be imaged separately to prevent over exposure of the less dense region

References

Related articles: Imaging in practice

Promoted articles (advertising)

Which projection would best demonstrate nasal septum deviation?

What bone is lateral to the nasal bone?

Where does the CR enter for a lateral projection of the nasal bones?

What bones form the lateral walls of the nasal complex?