What Exactly does "Chest PA and LAT mean?

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Can anyone tell me what a "Chest PA and LAT" is? What does the "PA and LAT" mean?

Thanks for any help!

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Specializes in NICU.

PA stands for poster-anterior and LAT stands for lateral. Hope this helps.

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AnnRN2B said:
PA stands for poster-anterior and LAT stands for lateral. Hope this helps.

Jeez, that is so obvious now that you said it! So, basically it's a chest X-ray looking from the lateral sides, and also from the posterior and the anterior aspect? Thanks for your help!

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Specializes in Urgent Care.

Yes, you have the patient face the film so that the ray shoots from the posterior to the anterior. Then also lateral. Other films are taken AP, such as extremities.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

It means that the Chest PA film is shot from the patient's back (posterior) through the chest to the front (anterior) of the chest. An AP chest x-ray is vice versa. The LAT chest x-ray is usually shot from the left side and also the right side. A cross table, or cross fire, chest x-ray is the same as a LAT chest.

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Note: The answer above mine said "laterals from both sides." Usually just one lateral is done, a left lateral, that is with the left side closest to the image plate. Right laterals are usually not done, because the further away an object is from the image plate or film, the bigger and more distorted it will look...a right lateral places the heart further away and thus can make it look enlarged.

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