Hip (lateral view)

Last revised by Andrew Murphy on 23 Mar 2023

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Murphy A, Lukies M, Er A, Hip (lateral view). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 25 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-72201

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-72201

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/72201

rID:

72201

Article created:

14 Nov 2019, Andrew Murphy ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Andrew Murphy had no recorded disclosures.

View Andrew Murphy's current disclosures

Last revised:

23 Mar 2023, Andrew Murphy ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Andrew Murphy had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Andrew Murphy's current disclosures

Revisions:

5 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Sections:

Radiography

Synonyms:

hip rolled lateral
lateral hip

The lateral hip view is a radiographic projection assessing the relationship of the femoral head to the acetabulum.

This view assesses the hip joint for any potential fractures, dislocations, bone lesions or degenerative diseases (i.e. suspected osteoarthritis of the hip) in an orthogonal plane to the AP projection. As this particular projection involves rolling the patient onto the side of interest, it is hence not suitable for trauma situations.

For trauma imaging of the hip, see: horizontal beam lateral.

Patient position

the patient is rolled at least 45° onto the side of interest with a hip flexion of 90°
the unaffected leg is bent to stabilise the patient position i.e. foot firm on the bed to ensure stability

Technical factors

lateral projection
centring point
- the midpoint between the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and pubic symphysis
collimation
- anterior-posterior to include borders of the femur
- superiorly to include acetabulum
- inferior to include the proximal third of the femur
orientation
- landscape
detector size
- 24 x 30 cm
exposure
- 70-80 kVp
- 10-18 mAs
SID
- 100 cm
grid
- yes

Image technical evaluation

the bony pelvis is imaged from ASIS to the proximal shaft of the femur
the obturator foramina are closed due to superimposition of the pubic rami
greater and lesser trochanter of the proximal femur is in profile
proximal one-third of the femur is visible
there will be some foreshortening of the femoral neck due to superimposition

Practical points

the lateral hip projection often referred to as the rolled lateral, can be technically challenging on larger patients
- ensure you are centred around the mid groin region if bony landmarks are difficult to appreciate
- by understanding your lower limb anatomy and palpating for the distal femur (if possible), you can then align the long axis of your collimation parallel to where the proximal femur should lie
this is not an ideal projection to assess for suspected fractures due to requiring patient movement and the femoral head becoming foreshortened