Orbital x-ray or orbital radiography is an x-ray of both left and right eye sockets, to include the Frontal Sinuses and Maxillary Sinuses.

Positioning

The x-ray can be taken with the patient in either an erect or supine position, although most usually erect. The x-ray is taken PA (postero-antero), meaning that the patient faces towards the receiver and away from the x-rays source. The patients chin rests on the image receiver, which tilts the head up allowing the

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

s to be clear of the internal structure of the Petrous ridge. This view is called Occipital-Mental or OM. An orbital x-ray usually requires only one view unless the requester is looking for evidence of metallic fragments, in which case two projections can be made. One with the eyes looking up, one with the eyes looking down. These views will show any movement of fragments and helps rule out false positives / artefacts which may be present on the image receiver. Two other important views are the Water's view which helps visualise the anterior orbital floor and maxillary sinuses; and the Caldwell view which helps to visualise the frontal and ethmoid sinuses and posterior orbital floor.

Uses

It is useful for detecting fractures of the surrounding bone arising from

injury Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with ...

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

. It is also commonly used for detecting foreign objects in the eye that an

ophthalmoscope Ophthalmoscopy, also called funduscopy, is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures using an ophthalmoscope (or funduscope). It is done as part of an eye examination and may be done as part ...

cannot detect and is sometimes given prior to an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

where metal fragments could cause significant damage.

References

{{Medical imaging, state=collapsed Ophthalmic equipment