Special X-Ray Views for NEET-PG and INI-CET — By Region, With Radiographs

Examiners rarely ask for a view's definition. They describe a clinical problem — a suspected scaphoid fracture, a hidden apical lesion, an acetabular fracture — and expect you to name the projection. The views below are grouped by body region with that clinical question beside each.

Practise Radiology PYQs FreeView Plans

Last verified: 5 October 2026 against Wikimedia Commons (licence checked per file).

Quick Answer

Name the view from the question: maxillary sinus → Waters'; frontal sinus → Caldwell; occipital bone → Towne's; zygomatic arch → submentovertical; scaphoid → scaphoid series; patellofemoral joint → skyline; acetabulum → Judet; free gas in a patient who cannot sit up → left lateral decubitus.

Skull & face

  • Waters' view (Occipitomental view)

    Question it answers: Maxillary sinusitis, orbital floor (blow-out) and zygomatic fractures. Shows: Maxillary sinuses, orbital floor, zygoma.

  • Caldwell view (Occipitofrontal (PA with ~15° caudal tilt))

    Question it answers: Frontal and ethmoid sinus disease. Shows: Frontal and ethmoid sinuses.

  • Towne's view (AP axial (fronto-occipital))

    Question it answers: Occipital bone fractures. Shows: Occipital bone, foramen magnum.

  • Submentovertical view (Basal / 'jug-handle' view)

    Question it answers: Zygomatic arch fractures. Shows: Skull base, zygomatic arches.

  • Schüller's view (Lateral oblique of the mastoid)

    Question it answers: Mastoiditis and the extent of mastoid pneumatisation. Shows: Mastoid air cells.

  • Rhese view (Oblique view of the orbit)

    Question it answers: Plain-film assessment of the optic canal. Shows: Optic canal (optic foramen), one side at a time.

Neck

  • Lateral soft-tissue neck

    Question it answers: Retropharyngeal abscess; epiglottitis ('thumb sign'). Shows: Prevertebral soft tissue, epiglottis.

Chest

  • Lateral decubitus (chest)

    Question it answers: Small pleural effusion; whether an effusion is free-flowing. Shows: Free pleural fluid layering along the dependent side.

  • Apical lordotic view

    Question it answers: Apical lesions hidden by the clavicles, e.g. tuberculosis. Shows: Lung apices, clear of the clavicles.

  • AP chest view (vs PA) (Anteroposterior; the standard view is PA erect)

    Question it answers: Sick or intubated patients who cannot stand for a PA film (bedside, mobile X-ray); heart size cannot be judged on it — the cardiothoracic ratio needs a PA erect film. Shows: Heart and mediastinum look magnified (heart further from the detector); scapulae often overlie the lungs.

Spine

  • Swimmer's view

    Question it answers: Lower cervical spine when the shoulders obscure it on a lateral view. Shows: Cervicothoracic junction (C7–T1).

Upper limb

  • Scaphoid views (PA with ulnar deviation, plus obliques)

    Question it answers: Suspected scaphoid fracture. Shows: The scaphoid along its length.

  • Stryker notch view (Arm resting on the head, beam 10–15° cephalad)

    Question it answers: Hill-Sachs defect after anterior shoulder dislocation. Shows: Posterior humeral head.

Lower limb

  • Skyline view (Sunrise / Merchant view)

    Question it answers: Patellar fractures and subluxation; also shows a knee effusion (the lateral knee view is the standard one for effusion). Shows: Patellofemoral joint, patella in axial profile.

  • Mortise view (AP ankle with ~15° internal rotation)

    Question it answers: Ankle fractures and syndesmotic injury. Shows: The ankle mortise joint space all round.

Pelvis

  • Judet views (Iliac and obturator oblique views)

    Question it answers: Acetabular fractures. Shows: Anterior and posterior columns of the acetabulum.

  • Frog-leg lateral view (Knees flexed and hips abducted ~45°, usually both sides)

    Question it answers: Children: slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SUFE/SCFE) and Perthes disease. Shows: Hip joints and femoral necks (both hips on one film).

Abdomen

  • Left lateral decubitus (abdomen)

    Question it answers: Pneumoperitoneum when the patient cannot sit up for an erect chest X-ray. Shows: Free gas collecting over the liver.

Radiographs and diagrams

Waters' view

Waters' view. Waters' (occipitomental) view. The source file's description reports a right maxillary antrochoanal polyp in this patient.

Waters' View (X ray Occipitometal view).png — Malignant Cell, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Caldwell view

Caldwell view. Diagram of the Caldwell view (not a radiograph): a PA beam angled about 15° caudally to project the frontal sinus clearly.

Caldwell-view-angled-skull-pa-radiograph.jpg — Dr Matt A. Morgan, Radiopaedia.org, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Skyline view (normal)

Skyline view (normal). Skyline view of a normal right patella and patellofemoral joint.

X-ray of a normal patella.jpg — Mikael Häggström, M.D., CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Skyline view (effusion)

Skyline view (effusion). Skyline view showing a large knee joint effusion (arrow).

Knee effusion.jpg — James Heilman, MD, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

CC BY-SA images are shared under the same licence. Practise more films in the clinical image atlas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Waters' or Caldwell — which view for which sinus?▼
Waters' (occipitomental) is the view for the maxillary sinuses and orbital floor. Caldwell (occipitofrontal, about 15° caudal tilt) is the view for the frontal and ethmoid sinuses.
Which X-ray views show the acetabulum?▼
Judet views — an iliac oblique and an obturator oblique — which separate the anterior and posterior acetabular columns. They are used to classify acetabular fractures.
How is a small pleural effusion shown on plain X-ray?▼
A lateral decubitus chest view, with the affected side down, lets free fluid layer along the dependent chest wall, showing small or free-flowing effusions that an erect film can miss.
When is the swimmer's view used?▼
When the shoulders hide the lower cervical spine on a lateral view; raising one arm (the 'swimmer' position) projects the shoulders away to show C7–T1.
Radiographs and diagrams, free licences
Grouped by body region
Built for NEET-PG and INI-CET

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