Lobar lung collapse

Changed by Henry Knipe, 22 Oct 2018

Updates to Article Attributes

Body was changed:

Lobar collapse refers to the collapse of an entire lobe of the lung. As such it is a subtype of atelectasis (although collapse is not entirely synonymous is atelectasis), which is a more generic term for 'incomplete expansion'. Individual lobes of the lung may collapse due to obstruction of the supplying bronchus. 

Causes include:

Pathology

Aetiology

Radiographic features

RadiographPlain radiograph

The appearance on chest x-ray varies according to the lobe involved and are discussed separately: 

Some features, however, are generic markers of volume loss and are helpful in directing ones attention to the collapse, as well as enabling distinction from opacification of the lobe without collapse (e.g. lobar pneumonia). These features include 5:

  • elevation of the ipsilateral hemidiaphragm
  • crowding of the ipsilateral ribs
  • shift of the mediastinum towards the side of atelectasis
  • crowding of pulmonary vessels or air bronchograms
CT

Lobar collapse is usually trivially easy to identify on CT, but identification of the cause is not always easy, as the collapsed lung can make identification of an obstructing lesion difficult.  

  • -<p><strong>Lobar collapse</strong> refers to the collapse of an entire lobe of the lung. As such it is a subtype of <a href="/articles/pulmonary-atelectasis">atelectasis</a> (although collapse is not entirely synonymous is atelectasis), which is a more generic term for 'incomplete expansion'. Individual lobes of the lung may collapse due to obstruction of the supplying bronchus. </p><p>Causes include:</p><ul>
  • +<p><strong>Lobar collapse</strong> refers to the collapse of an entire lobe of the lung. As such it is a subtype of <a href="/articles/pulmonary-atelectasis">atelectasis</a> (although collapse is not entirely synonymous is atelectasis), which is a more generic term for 'incomplete expansion'. Individual lobes of the lung may collapse due to obstruction of the supplying bronchus. </p><h4>Pathology</h4><h5>Aetiology</h5><ul>
  • -<li><a title="Mucoid impaction (lung)" href="/articles/mucoid-impaction-lung-1">mucous plugging</a></li>
  • +<li><a href="/articles/mucoid-impaction-lung-1">mucous plugging</a></li>
  • -</ul><h4>Radiographic features</h4><h5>Radiograph</h5><p>The appearance on chest x-ray varies according to the lobe involved and are discussed separately: </p><ul>
  • +</ul><h4>Radiographic features</h4><h5>Plain radiograph</h5><p>The appearance on chest x-ray varies according to the lobe involved and are discussed separately: </p><ul>

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