Chest curriculum

The chest curriculum is one of our curriculum articles and aims to be a collection of articles that represent the core chest knowledge.

Definition

Topics pertaining to the lungs, mediastinum, pleura, but excluding the skeletal structures (see musculoskeletal curriculum), heart (see cardiac curriculum), and great vessels (see vascular curriculum).

Anatomy

Core anatomical topics include:

• lung
  • tracheobronchial tree
  • secondary pulmonary lobule
• pleura
• mediastinum
  • thymus

Radiological Examinations

The chest is primarily investigated with plain films and CT.

• chest x-ray (CXR)
• chest CT
  • CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA)
  • high resolution CT (HRCT)

Introduction

• interpreting chest x-rays - a systematic approach
  • normal cardiomediastinal contours
  • pleural reflections on chest x-ray
  • cardiac chamber enlargement
  • congenital heart disease - chest x-ray approach
• pulmonary opacification
  • airspace opacification
  • linear opacification
  • nodular opacification

Pathology

Lungs and airways

• neoplasms
  • bronchogenic carcinoma
    • non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
      • bronchogenic squamous cell carcinoma
      • bronchogenic adenocarcinoma
      • bronchioloalveolar carcinoma 
      • undifferentiated large-cell bronchogenic carcinoma
    • small cell carcinoma
  • metastases to the lungs
  • tracheal neoplasms
• infection
  • bacterial
    • lobar pneumonia
    • round pneumonia
    • bronchopneumonia
    • aspiration pneumonia
    • septic emboli
    • pulmonary abscess
  • mycobacteria
    • pulmonary manifestations of M tuberculosis
    • pulmonary manifestations of non-tubercular mycobacterium infection
  • viral pneumonitis
    • cytomegalovirus pneumonia
  • fungal
    • aspergillosis
      • aspergilloma
      • allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA)
      • invasive aspergillosis
        • chronic necrotizing aspergillosis (CNA)
        • airway invasive aspergillosis
        • angioinvasive aspergillosis
      • obstructive bronchopulmonary aspergillosis
    • blastomycosis
    • coccidioidomycosis
    • cryptococcosis
    • histoplasmosis
    • paracoccidioidomycosis
  • Pneumocystis pneumonia
  • parasites
    • pulmonary amebiasis
    • pulmonary echinococcosis
    • pulmonary paragonimiasis
    • pulmonary schistosomiasis
    • pulmonary strongyloidiasis
    • pulmonary toxocariasis

Inflammatory lung conditions

Hypersensitivity lung conditions

Interstitial lung disease

Pleura

• tumors
  • primary pleural tumors
    • solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura
    • mesothelioma
    • localized mediastinal malignant mesothelioma
  • pleural metastases
• pleural effusion
• empyema
• pneumothorax

Mediastinum

• thymus
  • primary tumors of the thymus
    • thymoma
    • invasive thymoma
    • thymic carcinoma
    • thymolipoma / thymoliposarcoma
    • thymic cyst
    • benign thymic hyperplasia
    • thymic carcinoid
    • primary thymic lymphoma