Panoramic X-ray screening for early detection of maxilliary sinus malignancy.

Abstract

ONE OF the criteria for curability in malignancies of the maxillary sinuses is early diagnosis. A simple, readily available diagnostic screening x-ray film could enhance early diagnosis. The availability of a panoramic dental x-ray machine which essentially produces tomograms of the mandibulo-facial structures may make early lesions detectable. Panoramic radiography has been well discussed by Graber.¹A panoramic view is produced by rotating an external synchronized x-ray beam and film cassette. The resulting tomogram is a fixed curved plane whose structures in the plane of focus are primarily the mandible and the anterolateral aspects of both maxillary sinuses. As is true in any form of body section radiography, structures outside of the plane of focus cannot be recognized with satisfactory clarity. Paatero,^2-3who called this "pantomography" from the word "panoramic" and "tomograph," experimentally developed an eccentric technique with two centers of rotation of the moving beam and