Some institutions have adopted the lateral scapula view as a routine projection for shoulder trauma radiography. Other institutions strictly forbid the lateral scapula view for shoulder trauma radiography. This page examines two cases which are arguably instructive in this debate.

	This patient presented to the Emergency Department following a fall. The initial AP shoulder image reveals a fracture involving the humeral head and neck. One unusual feature of this image is that the articular surface of the humeral head appears to be directed inferiorly (arrow)
	The Infero-superior projection (IS) image reveals that the humeral head is dislocated and impacted on the glenoid resulting in Hills-Sachs impaction fracture