Lateral view of the thorax

The lateral view of the chest is a complementary incidence performed less f requently nowadays with the great frequency of chest CT. In fact, this late ral radiograph has important potential and can even give some exclusive inf ormation. With the 3-dimensional visualization provided by CT, the lateral radiograph of the chest is even easier to understand. Following in the foot steps of our great predecessors (Felson, Heitzman, Proto) we propose the le ft lateral view and offer our opinion about indications, techniques and res ults. The left lateral view can be performed with perfect perpendicular ori entation or with a slight lateral shift that can be chosen with the right s houlder forwards (shifted right anterior lateral) or the contrary (shifted left anterior lateral). The left lateral view, like the antero-posterior view must be interpreted i n a circular-concentric fashion.