Skull (Caldwell view)
The Caldwell view is a caudally angled PA radiograph of the skull, designed to better visualise the paranasal sinuses, especially the frontal sinus.
On this page:
Patient position
- the patient is seated in front of the upright detector
- the patient's forehead is placed against the image detector
- forehead and nose are both touching the detector
- the orbitomeatal line is running perpendicular to the detector
- petrous ridge is below orbits
Technical factors
- posteroanterior (PA) projection
-
centring point
- angled caudad around 15° to exit at the nasion
-
collimation
- lateral to the skin margins
- superior and inferior to the borders of the sinus cavities
-
orientation
- portrait
-
detector size
- 24 cm x 30 cm
-
exposure
- 70-80 kVp
- 20 mAs
-
SID
- 100 cm
-
grid
- yes
Image technical evaluation
- no rotation evident via the symmetrical nature of the orbits
- the innominate lines should be equidistant from the lateral borders of the orbits
- no tilting should be evident; an imaginary line through the petrous ridges should be horizontal
Practical points
- always guarantee that the patient is not 'hunched' over when they are being examined. This can cause an artefact from the shoulders and the patient is more likely to be rotated; it is best to move the chair up close to the detector so they are sitting up straight for the X ray.
- remember, having one's head against an upright detector is uncomfortable, so try to have everything set up before you position the patient, to ensure patient comfort
- constantly use a side marker and regularly place it PA. Skulls can get tricky with figuring out which side is which. Many venders tend to 'flip' images to make them appear AP
Related articles
Radiographic views
- radiographic positioning and terminology
- systematic radiographic technical evaluation
- chest radiography
- abdominal radiography
-
upper limb radiography
-
shoulder girdle radiography
- scapula series
-
shoulder series
- shoulder AP view
- shoulder internal rotation view
- shoulder external rotation view
- shoulder axial view
- shoulder modified trauma axial
- shoulder supine lateral
- shoulder modified supine lateral
- shoulder Y lateral view
- shoulder AP glenoid view
- shoulder apical oblique view (Garth view)
- humerus (neck) AP view
- humerus axial (bicipital groove) view (Fisk view)
- shoulder outlet view (Neer view)
- Stryker notch view
- acromioclavicular joint series
- clavicle series
- sternoclavicular joint series
- arm and forearm radiography
- wrist and hand radiography
-
shoulder girdle radiography
-
lower limb radiography
- pelvic girdle radiography
- thigh and leg radiography
- ankle and foot radiography
- skull radiography
-
sinus and facial bone radiography
- facial bones
- Caldwell view (angled skull PA view)
- nasal bones
- zygomatic arches
- orbits
- paranasal sinuses
- temporal bones
- dental radiography
- spine radiography