Question

Positioning of the cervicothoracic (Swimmer's) lateral for the cervical spine requires?

1) Placement of patient's arm furthest from IR above their head
2) Placement of patient's arm closest to IR above their head
3) Slight cephalic angulation of the CR to separate shoulders
4) CR placement directed at T1

Answer 1

For the Swimmer's lateral position of the cervical spine, the patient's arm closest to the IR should be placed above their head, and the CR placement directed at T1 vertebra.

Step-by-step explanation:

The positioning of the cervicothoracic (Swimmer's) lateral for the cervical spine includes: 2) placing the patient's arm closest to the IR (imaging receptor) above their head to reduce the overlapping of the shoulders, which can obscure the view of the cervicothoracic region. 4) The central ray (CR) placement is typically directed at the T1 vertebra. These steps are necessary to ensure a clear image of the cervical spine is obtained without the shoulders blocking the view. Although some lateral cervical spine views may require a slight cephalic angle to separate the shoulders or align the intervertebral spaces, this is more often used in other types of spinal imaging rather than the Swimmer's view.