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Skull x-ray - Overview

Alternative Names

X-ray - head; X-ray - skull; Skull radiography; Head x-ray

Definition of Skull x-ray:

A skull x-ray is a picture of the bones surrounding the brain, including the facial bones, the nose, and the sinuses.

How the test is performed:

The test is performed in a hospital radiology department or in the health care provider� ' s office by an x-ray technician. You will be asked to lie on the x-ray table or sit in a chair. Your head may be placed in a number of positions.

How to prepare for the test:

Inform the health care provider if you are pregnant. Remove all jewelry.

How the test will feel:

Generally, there is little or no discomfort during an x-ray. If there is a head injury, positioning the head may be uncomfortable.

Why the test is performed:

Your doctor may order this test if you you have injured your skull or you have symptoms or signs of a structural problem inside the skull (such as a tumor or bleeding).

A skull x-ray is also used to evaluate an unusually shaped child's head.

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed include the following:

X-ray

Skull of an adult

Reviewed last on: 12/22/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Stevens JM. Cranial and intracranial disease: trauma, cerebrospinal fluid disturbances, degenerative disorders and epilepsy. In: Grainger RC, Allison D, Adam, Dixon AK, eds. Diagnostic Radiology: A Textbook of Medical Imaging. 5th ed. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 5.

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