What is X-Ray Hand Lateral View?

The lateral hand view is an orthogonal view taken along with the PA view of the hand.

Indications

The lateral hand view is requested for diagnosing a variety of clinical indications such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, suspected fracture or dislocation, and localizing foreign bodies.

It is particularly useful for visualizing the degree of fracture displacement and the exact location of a foreign body. Spreading the fingers into a fan lateral view is also essential for visualizing each phalange separately, allowing for the diagnosis of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

Patient position

• patient is seated alongside the table
• hand is externally rotated by 90 degrees from the PA position so that the palm is perpendicular to the image receptor
• fingers are kept extended with thumb abducted
• fingers should ideally be separated to minimize superimposition and increase diagnostic information contained in the image

Technical factors

• Lateral projection
• Centering point
  • over the head of the second metacarpal
• Collimation
  • anteroposterior to the skin margins
  • distal to the tips of the fingers
  • proximal to include one-third of the distal radius and ulna
• Orientation
  • portrait
• Detector Size
  • 18 cm x 24 cm
• Exposure
  • 50-60 kVp
  • 3-5 mAs
• SID
  • 100cm
• Grid
  • no