To establish the value of the vertex view in routine brain scanning, 139 abnormal pertechnetate brain scans, diagnosed from 638 studies in which the vertex projection was routinely taken along with the conventional views, were evaluated for the lesions on each individual scan. We found that the vertex view detected 89.9 per cent of the lesions; the right lateral, 41.7 per cent; the left lateral, 59.7 per cent; the anterior, 69.4 per cent; and the posterior, 81.7 per cent. A variety of abnormalities was detected with the vertex view including 2 cystic lesions appearing as negative defects and basilar brain lesions. The selective nature of the properly positioned posterior view accounted for its high detection percentage. The routine use of the vertex view is recommended.