Which description best characterizes a ghost image in panoramic imaging?

• A. Sharp, vertically compressed, and aligned with the real image
• B. Dark, smaller, and between the real image and the receptor
• C. Blurred, horizontally magnified, and slightly more superior than the opposing real image
• D. Bright, equally sized, and at the same level as the real image

Answer: (C)

In panoramic imaging, a ghost image is a secondary projection of a dense structure that lies on the opposite side of the jaw from the film. Because this object is farther from the film and off the focal trough, its image on the radiograph is blurred and magnified, with distortion occurring mainly in the horizontal dimension due to the curved path of the beam. It also tends to sit slightly higher (more superior) than the real image on the opposite side. That combination—blurred, horizontally magnified, and positioned a bit higher than the corresponding real image on the far side—fits the description of a ghost image best. Other descriptions would imply a sharp or dark or differently positioned image, which doesn’t match this artifact.