Radiology · patient case question
What does the SLOB rule state?
Patient case: Reading the panoramic film
demo: Series of radiographic interpretation items
chief: Assorted radiographic findings and technique errors from a single clinic session.
history: Several patients imaged the same morning; the films are reviewed together at the end of the day.
meds: Not applicable.
findings: One panoramic film shows the right ramus and posterior teeth appreciably wider than the left. Another shows two ring-shaped radiopacities superimposed over one maxillary sinus and three over the other, in a patient wearing earrings. A third shows a curved radiopacity in the lower field. An occlusal film shows a soft tissue shadow over the incisal edges of the anterior teeth.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Same lingual, opposite buccal
- A. This misstates the mnemonic; the L stands for lingual.
- B. The first S refers to the object moving in the same direction as the tube, not to a superior position.
- C. The B stands for buccal, which is the whole point of the rule.
- D. Correct. SLOB stands for same lingual, opposite buccal. When the tube head is shifted and a second image taken, an object that moves in the same direction as the tube lies lingually or palatally, and an object that moves in the opposite direction lies buccally. It is also called Clark's rule or the tube shift technique.