RADIAL DEVIATION WRIST

Pathology Demonstrated : 

Warning: if patient has possible wrist trauma, don’t

attempt this position before routine wrist series

has been completed to rule out possible #’s of distal forearm and/or wrist

Pathology demonstrated

Fx of carpals on the ulnar side, especially the

lunate, triquetrum, pisiform, and hamate

IR Size :

18*24

IR Position :

Crosswise / tabletop

Sheilding :

 place lead shield over patient’s lap

Pateint Position : 

seat pt at end of table with

elbow flexed 90o. Place wrist and hand on

cassette, palm down. Shoulder, elbow, and

wrist should be on same horizontal plane

Part Position : 

Position wrist as for a PA projection – palm down and hand and wrist aligned to center of long axis of portion of IR being exposed, with scaphoid centered to CR Without moving forearm, gently evert hand (move toward ulnar side) as far as patient can tolerate without lifting or rotating distal forearm

CR : 

CR to IR centered to midcarpal area 

Collimation : 

collimate on 4 sides to carpal region

Criteria : 

Structures Shown: 

• The distal radius and ulna, the carpals, and the proximal metacarpals are visible. 

• The carpals are visi-ble, with adjacent interspaces more open on the medial (ul-nar) side of the wrist.

Position: 

• The long axis of forearm is aligned to the side border of the IR - Extreme radial deviation is evidenced by the angle of the long axis of the metacarpals to that of the radius and ulna and the space between the triquetrum / pisiform and the styloid process of the radius. - No rotation of the wrist is evidenced by the appearance of the distal radius and ulna.