Finding the right tests…
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Finding the right tests…
X-Ray
A skull AP X-ray is taken from the front, the beam passing straight through your face and out the back of your head, showing the frontal bone, eye sockets, and nasal area from a front-facing angle. Doctors use it to check whether skull bones line up evenly on both sides, and to look for a fracture, unusual bone shape, or signs of a growth affecting the bone. Skull X-rays overall have become far less common than before, since a CT scan shows soft tissue and bone together in much greater detail and is preferred for a head injury. This front view is often paired with a side view rather than used alone, giving a fuller sense of the skull's shape.
The film shows the front-facing bones of the skull, including the forehead bone, eye sockets, and nasal area, read for symmetry between left and right, fracture lines, and unusual bone shape or density. It is often read together with a side view rather than on its own.
A skull AP X-ray is a straightforward front view: you face the machine directly, and the beam passes through from front to back. What comes back is a two-dimensional picture of the front-facing bones of your skull, flattened into one image.
The main things read on this view are whether the bones look symmetric on the left and right, whether any fracture line is visible, and whether the overall bone shape and density look typical for your age. In children, it can also be part of evaluating an unusually shaped head.
CT scanning has largely taken over for evaluating head injuries and structural brain concerns, since it shows far more detail in a single scan and does not depend on interpreting overlapping shadows the way a plain X-ray does. This view remains useful as a simple, low-cost look when a detailed scan is not immediately needed or available.
On its own, a front view cannot show how the skull bones sit from front to back, only side to side. For this reason, doctors commonly ask for a lateral view alongside this one rather than relying on the front view by itself.
It can show many fractures, but a normal-looking film does not completely rule one out, and a CT scan is generally preferred when a fracture needs to be confidently excluded, especially after a head injury.
A front view alone cannot show how skull bones sit from front to back, only from side to side, so a side view is commonly added to give a fuller picture.
In children, this view can help evaluate whether the skull shape or growth pattern looks typical, alongside other clinical findings your doctor has noted.
CT shows bone and soft tissue together in far more detail and is generally preferred for evaluating head injuries or suspected brain-related problems.
This page is general information about the test, not medical advice. Your own report's reference ranges apply — please discuss your results with your doctor.
Yes, jewellery, hairpins, glasses, and any removable dental appliance near the head are usually asked to be removed, since they can show up on the image. The technologist will confirm exactly what to take off.
The positioning and the image only take a few minutes total, though your head may need to be held very still for a moment. The technologist will let you know when it is complete.
Tell your doctor and the technologist if you are or might be pregnant before the scan. Your doctor will confirm whether the X-ray is needed now or can wait.