Reading a panoramic X-ray (OPG)
Anatomical landmarks on a panoramic radiograph — learn, then find them.
- Condylar process
- Rounded head of the mandible that sits in the glenoid fossa (TMJ).
- Coronoid process
- Thin anterior projection of the ramus; the temporalis muscle attaches here. Often overlaps the maxillary tuberosity.
- Sigmoid (mandibular) notch
- The curved dip between the coronoid and condylar processes.
- Ramus of the mandible
- The vertical part of the mandible behind the teeth.
- Angle of the mandible
- Where the ramus meets the body; a common fracture site.
- Mandibular canal
- Dark band with bright borders carrying the inferior alveolar nerve and vessels — key when planning implants and third-molar surgery.
- Mental foramen
- Small round radiolucency near the premolar apices; can be mistaken for a periapical lesion.
- Inferior border of the mandible
- Thick, bright cortical bone along the lower edge.
- Mandibular symphysis
- Midline of the mandible below the lower incisors.
- Maxillary sinus
- Large air-filled radiolucency above the upper premolars and molars; its floor may dip between the roots.
- Nasal cavity
- Dark area above the upper incisors, divided by the nasal septum.
- Hard palate
- Bright horizontal band above the upper teeth roots.
- Zygomatic process / arch
- Bright area above the molars (the “key ridge” of the cheekbone).
- Pharyngeal airway
- Dark band crossing the ramus — air, not pathology.
- Cervical spine (ghost)
- Faint blurred shadow at the edges; a ghost image of the vertebrae.
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