The mediolateral view is one of the common routine views for mammography in addition to the craniocaudal view. The image receptor of the mammography system is placed lateral to the breast, and the horizontal x-ray beam is directed from medial to lateral through the breast.

Mammography is a diagnostic imaging procedure of the breast to detect and evaluate breast disease. Mammography is widely used as a screening method and plays a key role in early breast cancer detection.
The screening mammography is used to detect breast changes in women who have no signs or symptoms or noticed breast abnormalities. The goal is to detect a breast tumor before any clinical signs are observable.
A diagnostic mammography is used to investigate suspicious breast changes, such as a breast lump, an unusual skin appearance, breast pain, nipple thickening or nipple discharge.
A breast screening or standard mammography requires two mammograms from different angles of each breast including craniocaudal view and mediolateral view. Additional images can be made from other angles or focus on microcalcifications or other suspicious areas.
A mammogram is created by special mammography equipment with long wavelength of the used x-rays. Film-screen mammography is still the most widely used technology, but the state of the art technique is digital mammography. Conventional x-ray equipment was used to produce mammograms until dedicated mammography equipment became available in the late 1960s. Film-screen mammography and xeromammography, introduced in the early 1970s, used lower radiation doses and produced sharper mammograms. The second generation of mammography systems has been introduced in the early 1980s. Chief disadvantages of analog mammography include the labor-intensive handling of the cassettes, relatively slow processing time, the lack of a direct interface to the x-ray system, and no post processing possibilities.
Mammograms of high quality should be done with the lowest radiation dose as possible. Adequate breast compression is important due to shortening of the exposure times, immobilization of the breast, reduction of motion and blurring and prevention of overpenetration by means of equalizing breast thickness.
Further breast imaging procedures include breast ultrasound and breast MRI.

(MLO) The mediolateral-oblique view is one of the standard two views of the breast. The image receptor of the mammography system is horizontally angled 30 to 60 degrees. The cassette assembly is parallel aligned to the pectoral muscle and the corner of the cassette holder fits comfortably into the axilla. The x-ray beam is directed from the superomedial to the inferolateral part of the breast.

A plane or section not perpendicular to the xyz coordinate system, such as long and short axis views of the heart.

See also Orientation, Mediolateral-Oblique View, Lateral View, Lateromedial, Breast Imaging, and Stack.

The lateromedial view of a mammogram is performed with a 90° angulated x-ray beam directed from the lateral to the medial breast. For a lateromedial oblique view, the x-ray beam is directed from the lower-outer to the upper-inner part of the breast (the exact reverse of the mediolateral oblique view). These views improve the visualization of medial breast tissue (also called true reverse oblique).