Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Weerakkody Y, Yap J, Baba Y, et al. Bronchial wall thickening. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 24 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-27490
Bronchial wall thickening is an imaging descriptor used to describe abnormal thickening of bronchial walls and can arise from a vast number of pathological entities. It is one of the causes of peribronchial cuffing.
The presence of bronchial wall thickening usually (but not always) implies inflammation of the airways. On a plain radiograph, it can sometimes be often difficult to differentiate from peribronchovascular thickening.
Etiology
-
inflammatory
-
infective
-
other
CT
The normal thickness of bronchial walls is dependent on the bronchial generation (i.e. how many divisions the bronchus has undergone since it branched from the trachea), but is in the region of 0.8-1.4 mm 8.
-
1. Silva C, Colby T, Müller N. Asthma and Associated Conditions: High-Resolution CT and Pathologic Findings. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2004;183(3):817-24. doi:10.2214/ajr.183.3.1830817 - Pubmed
-
2. Marom E, Goodman P, McAdams H. Diffuse Abnormalities of the Trachea and Main Bronchi. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;176(3):713-7. doi:10.2214/ajr.176.3.1760713 - Pubmed
-
3. Koo C, Baliff J, Torigian D, Litzky L, Gefter W, Akers S. Spectrum of Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Cell Proliferation: Diffuse Idiopathic Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia, Tumorlet, and Carcinoids. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2010;195(3):661-8. doi:10.2214/AJR.09.3811 - Pubmed
-
4. Hartman T, Primack S, Lee K, Swensen S, Müller N. CT of Bronchial and Bronchiolar Diseases. Radiographics. 1994;14(5):991-1003. doi:10.1148/radiographics.14.5.7991828 - Pubmed
-
5. Han N, Song K, Lee K et al. Superficial Endobronchial Lung Cancer: Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation. Korean J Radiol. 2002;3(4):229-34. doi:10.3348/kjr.2002.3.4.229 - Pubmed
-
6. DiMango E, Lubetsky H, Austin J. Assessment of Bronchial Wall Thickening on Posteroanterior Chest Radiographs in Acute Asthma. J Asthma. 2002;39(3):255-61. doi:10.1081/jas-120002475 - Pubmed
-
7. Sarıman N, Levent E, Cubuk R, Yurtlu S, Benli Aksungar F. Bronchial Hyperreactivity and Airway Wall Thickening in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients. Sleep Breath. 2011;15(3):341-50. doi:10.1007/s11325-010-0387-7 - Pubmed
-
8. Montaudon M, Desbarats P, Berger P, de Dietrich G, Marthan R, Laurent F. Assessment of Bronchial Wall Thickness and Lumen Diameter in Human Adults Using Multi-Detector Computed Tomography: Comparison with Theoretical Models. J Anat. 2007;211(5):579-88. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00811.x - Pubmed
Promoted articles (advertising)