Articles
Articles are a collaborative effort to provide a single canonical page on all topics relevant to the practice of radiology. As such, articles are written and edited by countless contributing members over a period of time. A global group of dedicated editors oversee accuracy, consulting with expert advisers, and constantly reviewing additions.
1,794 results found
Article
Brachiocephalic vein
The brachiocephalic veins, previously known as the innominate veins, are large paired valveless asymmetric veins that drain the head, neck, upper limbs and part of the thorax and mediastinum.
Gross anatomy
Origin
In the root of the neck, the internal jugular (IJV) and subclavian veins unite t...
Article
Brachytherapy seed migration to the lung
Brachytherapy seed migration to the lung is a known complication of radioactive seed therapy. These seeds are used for localized treatment of malignancies, most commonly prostate cancer.
Regarding staging, nearly 79% of the cases are localized, 12% are regional and 5% present with distant disea...
Article
Branches of the thoracoacromial artery (mnemonic)
Useful mnemonics to remember the four branches of the thoracoacromial artery are:
ABCD
CAlifornia Police Department
Cadavers Are Dead People
PACkeD
Mnemonics
ABCD
A: acromial
B: breast (pectoral)
C: clavicular
D: deltoid
CAlifornia Police Department
C: clavicular
A: acromial
P: pe...
Article
Brasfield scoring system
The Brasfield scoring system is a scoring system for patients with cystic fibrosis. The score is based on conventional chest radiographic findings and has been reported to have good correlation with pulmonary function. There can be intra- and interobserver variability between radiologists.
Ther...
Article
Bridging bronchus
A bridging bronchus is a rare congenital bronchial anomaly where there is an anomalous bronchus to the right lung arising from the left main bronchus. It has a high association with right upper lobe bronchus (pig bronchus) and congenital cardiac and vascular malformations, particularly a left pu...
Article
British Thoracic Society guidelines for pulmonary nodules
British Thoracic Society guidelines for pulmonary nodules were published in August 2015 for the management of pulmonary nodules seen on CT. In the United Kingdom, they supersede the Fleischner Society guidelines.
They are based initially on identifying whether the nodule is solid or subsolid an...
Article
Brock model for pulmonary nodules
The Brock model, also known as the PanCan model, is a multivariable model that estimates the risk that a pulmonary nodule on CT scan is lung cancer.
The model was developed from participants enrolled in the Pan-Canadian Early Detection of Lung Cancer Study 1, has been validated in lung cancer s...
Article
Bronchial anthracofibrosis
Bronchial anthracofibrosis is defined as luminal bronchial narrowing associated with anthracotic pigmentation on bronchoscopy, without a relevant history of pneumoconiosis or smoking.
Epidemiology
There is a preponderance for bronchial anthracofibrosis affecting women in their sixties.
Risk f...
Article
Bronchial arterial aneurysm
Bronchial arterial aneurysm refers to any form of aneurysmal dilatation involving any segment of the bronchial artery. The term is sometimes used synonymously with a bronchial arterial pseudoaneurysm 2.
Epidemiology
They are a rare entity and are reported in <1% of those who undergo selective ...
Article
Bronchial arterial enlargement
Bronchial arterial enlargement usually occurs as a result of bronchial pulmonary shunting. This can result from a number of situations:
underlying parenchymal pathology
bronchiectasis: especially in those with pulmonary manifestations of cystic fibrosis
those with certain forms of pulmonary h...
Article
Bronchial artery
The bronchial arteries are the major supply of high-pressure oxygenated blood to the supporting structures of the lung, including the pulmonary arteries, yet they are responsible for only 1% of the lung blood flow overall.
Bronchial artery anatomy is variable, most commonly classified according...
Article
Bronchial atresia
Bronchial atresia is a developmental anomaly characterized by focal obliteration of the proximal segment of a bronchus associated with hyperinflation of the distal lung.
On imaging, it commonly presents as a proximal focal tubular-shaped opacity radiating from the hilum associated with a dista...
Article
Bronchial carcinoid tumor
Bronchial carcinoid tumors are carcinoid tumors primarily occurring in relation to a bronchus. They were previously incorrectly termed as bronchial adenomas. They usually occur in association with a segmental or larger bronchus.
Epidemiology
Typically affects patients from 3rd to 7th decades w...
Article
Bronchial cut-off sign
The bronchial cut-off sign refers to the abrupt truncation of a bronchus from obstruction, which may be due to cancer, mucus plugging, trauma or foreign bodies. Typically, there is associated distal lobar collapse.
Article
Bronchial dehiscence
Bronchial dehiscence refers to loss of integrity of a bronchus which is most commonly encountered as an anastomotic (airway) dehiscence following lung transplantation (as a lung transplant complication). It can also refer to a bronchial stump dehiscence following a lobectomy.
Article
Bronchial diverticulum
Bronchial diverticula are blind-ended outpouchings arising from the bronchial tree. They are commonly pulsion diverticula acquired related to chronic cough.
Please refer to the article on tracheal diverticula for further details in the same condition involving the upper airways.
Epidemiolog...
Article
Bronchial fracture (mnemonic)
A mnemonic for the features of a bronchial fracture on a chest radiograph is:
Ps (or written as PPP or PPPP)
Mnemonic
Ps: progressive or persistent pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum
Article
Bronchial hamartoma
A bronchial hamartoma (alternative plural: hamartomata) falls under the same spectrum of pathology as a pulmonary hamartoma (except for their location), but a hamartoma in a bronchial location is less common than a peripheral pulmonary location. Bronchial hamartoma accounts for only around 1.4-1...
Article
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness or airway hyperresponsiveness consists of an increased sensitivity of the airways to an inhaled constrictor agonist. It has been described as a is a characteristic feature of asthma but also been known to occur in associated with other factors such as indexed body ...
Article
Bronchial stenosis
Bronchial stenosis, or bronchial strictures, are descriptive terms to denote regions of focal narrowing involving the bronchi. They can arise from a wide variety of etiologies.
Pathology
Etiology
It can arise from a large range of etiological factors, which include:
tracheobronchial malignan...
Article
Bronchial vein
The bronchial veins are counterparts to the bronchial arteries and drain the bronchi, hilar structures and the mid-portion of the esophagus.
Gross anatomy
There is typically a single bronchial vein at each hilum, formed from the superficial bronchial veins with deep bronchial veins draining in...
Article
Bronchial wall thickening
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 infl...
Article
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis (plural: bronchiectases) is defined as an irreversible abnormal dilatation of the bronchial tree. It has a variety of underlying causes, with a common etiology of chronic inflammation. High-resolution CT is the most accurate modality for diagnosis.
Epidemiology
As there are many...
Article
Bronchiectasis (summary)
This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists
Bronchiectasis refers to permanent dilatation of the airways secondary to chronic inflammation or infection. It is the common pathological response of bronchi to a variety of congenital and acquired conditions.
Reference a...
Article
Bronchiolectasis
Bronchiolectasis is a descriptive term which is given to dilatation of bronchioles, which are of smaller caliber than bronchi. It can arise in a number of pathologies.
Pathology
Bronchiolectasis is most frequently seen secondary to fibrosis but can be seen with inflammatory airways disease. Br...
Article
Bronchioles
Bronchioles are the branches of the tracheobronchial tree that by definition, are lacking in submucosal hyaline cartilage.
Gross anatomy
The bronchioles typically begin beyond the tertiary segmental bronchi and are described as conducting bronchioles. Following the tertiary segmental bronchi,...
Article
Bronchiolitis
Bronchiolitis (plural: bronchiolitides) is a broad term that refers to any form of inflammation of the bronchioles. It is often used in situations where there inflammation primarily occurs in airways smaller than 2 mm 6. It can carry variable clinical, functional and morphological expression. B...
Article
Bronchitis
Bronchitis (plural bronchitides) refers to inflammation of large airways (i.e. bronchi).
Terminology
It is considered a generic term referring to inflammation of the bronchial wall, representing the common final response of the airways to various irritants 3.
Types
This may be acute or chron...
Article
Broncho-arterial ratio
The broncho-arterial (BA) ratio is a descriptive parameter used in thoracic CT imaging. It is defined as the diameter of the bronchial lumen divided by the diameter of its accompanying artery 1. It is usually measured in the segmental to subsegmental artery level.
In healthy adult humans, the b...
Article
Bronchocentric granulomatosis
Bronchocentric granulomatosis is a rare chronic condition where airways granulomas form in response to different insults. It is included in the spectrum of eosinophilic lung disease.
Epidemiology
It can affect a wide age spectrum of patients but is thought to peak between the 4th to 7th decade...
Article
Bronchogenic cyst
Bronchogenic cysts are congenital malformations of the bronchial tree (a type of bronchopulmonary foregut malformation). They can present as a mediastinal mass that may enlarge and cause local compression. It is also considered the commonest of foregut duplication cysts.
Epidemiology
Bronchoge...
Article
Bronchogenic cyst vs esophageal duplication cyst
Bronchogenic cysts and esophageal duplication cysts are embryological foregut duplication cysts and are also differential diagnoses for a cystic mediastinal mass.
Differences
Symptoms
asymptomatic bronchogenic cyst
symptomatic esophageal cyst in the case of peptic ulceration
Plain radiograp...
Article
Broncholithiasis
Broncholithiasis (singular broncholith) is a term given for the presence of calcified or ossified material within the lumen of the bronchus.
Clinical presentation
dry cough
hemoptysis
fever, chest pain, rigors: due to obstructive pneumonia
and rarely:
lithoptysis: coughing up of broncholit...
Article
Broncho-esophageal fistula
A bronch-esophageal fistula (BOF) refers to an abnormal communication between a bronchus and the esophagus.
For congenital fistulas, please refer to the article on congenital tracheo-esophageal fistula.
Clinical presentation
A small proportion of patient with congenital forms may present in a...
Article
Bronchopleural fistula
Bronchopleural fistulas are communications between the bronchial tree and the pleural space.
Pathology
They are usually divided as:
central: when the fistula involves the trachea or a lobar bronchus
peripheral: when a distal airway, either segmental bronchi or the lung parenchyma, communic...
Article
Bronchopleural fistula vs lung abscess
Following are the main differentiating features of bronchopleural fistula versus lung abscess on plain radiographs and CT 1:
Bronchopleural fistula
bronchopleural fistulas have mostly lenticular shape of space
length of gas-fluid level in bronchopleural fistula in different projections is un...
Article
Bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia, also sometimes known as lobular pneumonia, is a radiological pattern associated with suppurative peribronchiolar inflammation and subsequent patchy consolidation of one or more secondary lobules of a lung in response to bacterial pneumonia.
Epidemiology
Pneumonia is the most...
Article
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) refers to late pathological lung changes that develop in infants after several weeks on prolonged ventilation.
Terminology
BPD and chronic lung disease of prematurity (CLDP) have often been used interchangeably to describe the condition post-treatment of premat...
Article
Bronchopulmonary foregut malformation
Bronchopulmonary foregut malformation (BPFM) is a term that encompases:
congenital pulmonary airways malformation (CPAM)
pulmonary sequestration
hybrid lesion
foregut duplication cysts
bronchogenic cyst
neurenteric cyst
enteric cyst
Embryology
They result from anomalous budding of the ...
Article
Bronchopulmonary segmental anatomy
Bronchopulmonary segmental anatomy describes the division of the lungs into segments based on the tertiary or segmental bronchi.
Gross anatomy
The trachea divides at the carina forming the left and right main stem bronchi which enter the lung substance to divide further. This initial division ...
Article
Bronchopulmonary segments (mnemonic)
Mnemonics to remember the bronchopulmonary segments are:
A PALM Seed Makes Another Little Palm (right lung)
ASIA ALPS (left lung)
Mnemonics
'A PALM Seed Makes Another Little Palm'
right upper lobe
A: apical segment
P: posterior segment
A: anterior segment
middle lobe
L: lateral segment...
Article
Bronchorrhea
Bronchorrhea is the expectoration of copious amounts of mucus from the lungs. It has been defined as production of more than 100 mL of mucus in 24 hours, which is more than is usually seen in chronic lung disease (e.g. chronic bronchitis typically produces 25 mL/24 hrs) 2. It may be a feature of...
Article
Bronchospasm
Bronchospasm refers to a sudden constriction of the bronchial wall muscles.
Pathology
It is caused by the release (degranulation) of substances from mast cells or basophils under the influence of anaphylatoxins.
It can be precipitated in many situations
certain forms of pulmonary edema
her...
Article
Bronchovascular spread (mnemonic)
A mnemonic to remember diseases that undergo bronchovascular spread is:
SKILL
Mnemonic
S: sarcoidosis
K: Kaposi sarcoma
I: infection (e.g. pneumocystis pneumonia, tuberculosis)
L: lymphoma
L: lymphangitis carcinomatosis
Article
Bronchus intermedius
The bronchus intermedius is one of the two bronchi which the right main bronchus bifurcates into, the other being the right upper lobe bronchus.
Gross anatomy
The bronchus intermedius runs distal to the right upper lobe bifurcation and follows the trajectory of the right main bronchus 1. Its m...
Article
Bubbly consolidation
Bubbly consolidation describes internal or central lucencies which represent normal aerated lung lobule within infarcted, consolidated, lung parenchyma. It is one of the highly specific imaging appearances of focal pulmonary hemorrhage or possibly pulmonary infarct secondary to pulmonary embolis...
Article
Buffalo pneumothorax
A buffalo pneumothorax (or buffalo chest) refers to the rare occurrence of bilateral pneumothoraces caused by an abnormal physical communication between the two pleural spaces. The pleuropleural communication is postulated to be in the anterior median chest where there is a loss of the normal an...
Article
Bulging fissure sign (lobar consolidation)
The bulging fissure sign refers to lobar consolidation where the affected portion of the lung is expanded causing displacement of the adjacent fissure. Any type of pneumonia or space-occupying process can lead to bulging (sagging) fissure sign. Classically, it has been described in right upper l...
Article
Bunch of grapes sign (bronchiectasis)
The bunch of grapes sign, a.k.a. cluster of grapes sign, is a characteristic imaging finding on CT seen in bronchiectasis. Closely apposed dilated bronchi may look like multiple adjacent thin walled cysts which mimic the appearance of a bunch of grapes.
Article
Bunch of grapes sign (disambiguation)
Bunch of grapes sign refers to the imaging appearance of multiple cystic spaces or lesions and it has been described for multiple pathologies:
bunch of grapes sign (hydatidiform mole) 7
bunch of grapes sign (bronchiectasis) 3
bunch of grapes sign (IPMN) 6
bunch of grapes sign (botryoid rhabd...
Article
Byssinosis
Byssinosis is a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis which can result from exposure to cotton fibers 1. Other similiar textiles fibers such as jute, hemp and flax are also thought to cause similar lung pathology 2.
Article
Cabrol shunt
The Cabrol shunt or Cabrol fistula, also known as a perigraft-to-right atrial shunt, is a technique used for uncontrolled bleeding following aortic root operations.
Rationale
The Cabrol shunt is applied when bleeding from an aortic root reconstruction cannot be controlled by traditional means ...
Article
Calcified mediastinal lymph nodes (differential)
There are numerous causes of calcified mediastinal lymph nodes.
Common causes include:
infectious granulomatous diseases
tuberculosis
histoplasmosis
sarcoidosis
silicosis
treated lymphoma
Uncommon causes include:
Pneumocystis jiroveci (PCP) pneumonia
metastases
thyroid carcinoma: papi...
Article
Calcified pulmonary embolus
Calcification associated with pulmonary emboli is usually associated with chronic pulmonary embolism. Calcification is occasionally related to prior congenital cardiac repairs 1.
Differential diagnosis
If it is purely high attenuating, consider
polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) embolism into the ...
Article
Calcified pulmonary nodules
Calcified pulmonary nodules are a subset of hyperdense pulmonary nodules and a group of nodules with a relatively narrow differential.
Pathology
Etiology
The most common cause of nodule calcification is granuloma formation, usually in the response to healed infection.
healed infection
cal...
Article
Calcifying fibrous pseudotumor of the lung
Calcifying fibrous pseudotumors (CFPT) of the lung are very rare, benign lesions of the lung.
Pathology
They are composed of hyalinised collagen with psammomatous-dystrophic calcification and a typical pattern of lymphocytic inflammation.
CFPTs usually occur within soft tissues but have bee...
Article
Calcifying pulmonary metastases
Calcifying pulmonary metastases are rare. These should not be confused with metastatic pulmonary calcification.
Pathology
Calcification in metastases can arise through a variety of mechanisms: bone formation in tumors osteoid origin, calcification and ossification of tumor cartilage, dystrophi...
Article
Calcifying pulmonary metastases (mnemonic)
A useful mnemonic to remember the causes of calcifying pulmonary metastases is:
BOBCAT
Mnemonic
B: bone (chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma)
O: ovary
B: breast
C: colon
A: any primary post-chemotherapy
T: thyroid
Article
Canals of Lambert
The canals of Lambert are microscopic collateral airways between the distal bronchiolar tree and adjacent alveoli. They are poorly formed in children, and along with poorly formed pores of Kohn, are thought to be responsible for the high frequency of round pneumonia in that age group.
Article
Candida pneumonia
Candida pneumonia is form of pulmonary candidiasis where there is air space opacification due opportunistic infection by the fungus Candida albicans. It typically occurs in immunocompromised patients. Due to the organism normally being present as part of oro-pharyngeal flora the diagnosis is oft...
Article
Cannonball metastases (lungs)
Cannonball metastases refer to multiple large, well-circumscribed, round pulmonary metastases that appear not unsurprisingly like cannonballs. The French terms "envolée de ballons" and "lâcher de ballons", which translate to "balloons release", are also used to describe this same appearance.
M...
Article
Cannonball metastasis (mnemonic)
Cannonball metastases refer to multiple large, well-circumscribed, round pulmonary metastases. The primary tumors for these lesions can be remembered with the help of this mnemonic:
CRESP
Mnemonic
C: choriocarcinoma
R: renal cell carcinoma
E: endometrial carcinoma
S: synovial sarcoma
P: p...
Article
Caplan syndrome
Caplan syndrome, also known as rheumatoid pneumoconiosis, is the combination of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and a characteristic pattern of fibrosis.
Although first described in coal miners (coal workers' pneumoconiosis), it has subsequently been found in patients with a variety of pneumo...
Article
Capnothorax
A capnothorax, sometimes referred to as a carbon dioxide (CO2) pneumothorax, has been reported as a potential complication with laparoscopic surgeries.
Epidemiology
It has been reported with almost all laparoscopic surgeries and is more likely to occur with high CO2 pressures and prolonged sur...
Article
Carbon monoxide transfer coefficient
Carbon monoxide transfer coefficient (often abbreviated as KCO) is a parameter often performed as part of pulmonary function tests. It is also often written as DLCO/VA (diffusing capacity per liter of lung volume) and is an index of the efficiency of alveolar transfer of carbon monoxide.
Interp...
Article
Carcinoid tumor
Carcinoid tumors are a type of neuroendocrine tumor that can occur in a number of locations. Carcinoid tumors arise from endocrine amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) cells that can be found throughout the gastrointestinal tract as well as other organs (e.g. lung). In general, they...
Article
Carcinoid tumors of the lung
Carcinoid tumors of the lung are a subgroup of neuroendocrine tumors of the lung, of lower grade than small cell carcinoma of the lung and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung.
For a general discussion, please refer to the article on carcinoid tumors.
Pathology
Classification
Car...
Article
Carcinosarcoma
Carcinosarcomas are highly malignant biphasic tumors with both carcinomatous (epithelial) and sarcomatous (bone, cartilage, or skeletal muscle) components.
Pathology
It can arise in many organs:
lung 5: pulmonary carcinosarcoma
esophagus 1: esophageal carcinosarcoma
genitourinary tract 2
...
Article
Cardiac bronchus
A cardiac bronchus (or sometimes termed accessory cardiac bronchus (ACB)) is a rare anatomic variant of the tracheobronchial tree, arising from the medial aspect of the bronchus intermedius.
Epidemiology
This anomaly is rare and is reported in ~0.3% (range 0.09-0.5%) of individuals 3-5. There ...
Article
Cardiac conduction devices
Implantable cardiac conduction devices (also known as cardiac implantable electronic devices or CIEDs) are a very common medical device of the thorax, with over one million implanted in the United States of America alone.
There are two major types of cardiac conduction devices: pacemakers and a...
Article
Cardiac MRI
Cardiac MRI consists of using MRI to study heart anatomy, physiology, and pathology.
Advantages
In comparison to other techniques, cardiac MRI offers:
improved soft tissue definition
protocol can be tailored to likely differential diagnoses
a large number of sequences are available
dynamic...
Article
Cardiac plexus
The cardiac plexus is a plexus of nerves situated at the base of the heart. It is formed by cardiac branches derived from both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Gross anatomy
Sympathetic cardiac nerves are derived from T1 to T4 segments and partly from the T5 segment of the ...
Article
Cardiac silhouette
Cardiac silhouette refers to the outline of the heart as seen on frontal and lateral chest radiographs and forms part of the cardiomediastinal contour. The size and shape of the cardiac silhouette provide useful clues for underlying disease.
Radiographic features
From the frontal projection, t...
Article
Cardiogenic pulmonary edema
Cardiogenic pulmonary edema is a subtype of pulmonary edema where the underlying etiology is due to left ventricular dysfunction.
Causes include:
left heart failure
congestive cardiac failure
mitral regurgitation
aortic stenosis
arrhythmias
myocardial pathology
myocarditis
cardiomyopathy
Article
Cardiophrenic angle lesions
The cardiophrenic space is usually filled with fat. However, lesions originating above or lower to the diaphragm can present as cardiophrenic angle lesions.
The more common lesions encountered include:
pericardial fat pad
pericardial cyst
pericardial fat necrosis
Morgagni's hernia
lymphade...
Article
Cardiophrenic angle mass (mnemonic)
A useful mnemonic to remember the differential diagnoses of a cardiophrenic angle mass is:
Fat PAD
Mnemonic
F: fat
P: pericardial cyst
A: aneurysm, adenopathy
D: diaphragmatic hernia
Article
Cardiothoracic ratio
The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) aids in the detection of enlargement of the cardiac silhouette, which is most commonly from cardiomegaly but can be due to other processes such as a pericardial effusion.
Terminology
Some report cardiothoracic ratio as a percentage, however this is incorrect, as...
Article
Carina
The carina is the sagittally-oriented cartilaginous ridge at the bifurcation of the trachea and is an important reference point in chest imaging.
Gross anatomy
The carina represents the inferior termination of the trachea into the right and left main bronchi.
The carina usually sits at the le...
Article
Carney complex
Carney complex (not to be confused with the Carney triad) is a rare multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome characterized by 1-4:
cardiac myxoma
often multiple
seen in two-thirds of patients with Carney complex
skin pigmentation (blue nevi): especially of the face, trunk, lips, and sclera
M...
Article
Carney triad
Carney triad is a rare syndrome defined by the coexistence of three tumors:
extra-adrenal paraganglioma (e.g. spinal paraganglioma)
initially, only functioning extra-adrenal paragangliomas were included, but subsequent work includes non-functioning extra-adrenal paragangliomas 1
gastric gastr...
Article
Castleman disease
Castleman disease, also known as angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia or giant lymph node hyperplasia, is an uncommon benign B-cell lymphoproliferative condition. It can affect several regions of the body but is commonly described as a solitary mediastinal mass.
There are two distinct subtype...
Article
Catamenial hemothorax
A catamenial hemothorax is one of the potential manifestations of thoracic endometriosis. It is essentially a terms of cyclical hemorrhage into the lungs. It is considered less common than a catamenial pneumothorax and a proportion of patients may present with hemoptysis 3.
See also
hemothorax
Article
Catamenial pneumothorax
Catamenial pneumothorax is a rare type of pneumothorax and is characterized by the recurrent accumulation of air in the thoracic space related to menstruation.
Epidemiology
It may represent up to one-third of women with spontaneous pneumothoraces 1. Patient history may or may not be positive f...
Article
Causes of air trapping on high-resolution CT chest (mnemonic)
Mnemonics to remember the causes of air trapping on HRCT chest are:
HSBC
Mnemonic
H: hypersensitivity pneumonitis
S: sarcoidosis
B: bronchiolitis obliterans
C: cystic fibrosis/bronchiectasis
A useful way to remember the mnemonic is recalling that once you are with HSBC, you are "trapped" ...
Article
Causes of ascending aorta calcification
There are relatively few causes of calcification of the ascending aorta 1-3:
atherosclerosis (this usually spares the ascending aorta)
aortitis
syphilis
Takayasu arteritis
idiopathic
See also
porcelain aorta
Article
Causes of perfusion defects on a VQ scan
There are several causes leading to a perfusion defect on a VQ scan with an acute pulmonary embolus being only one of them:
Vascular causes
acute pulmonary embolus
previous pulmonary embolus (including fat embolism, thromboembolism, air embolism, tumor)
vasculitides affecting the pulmonary v...
Article
Cavitary pulmonary infarction
Cavitation associated with pulmonary infarction is a rare event. According to autopsy series, the reported cavitation rates are around 4-5% pulmonary infarcts 2-3. They can represent either aseptic pulmonary cavitation or superimposed infection following cavitation. There may be an upper lobe pr...
Article
Cavitating pneumonia
Cavitating pneumonia is a complication that can occur with severe necrotizing pneumonia and in some publications, it is used synonymously with the latter term 2. It is a rare complication in both children and adults.
Cavitation associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is separately discussed...
Article
Cavitating pulmonary metastases
Cavitating pulmonary metastases refer to pulmonary metastases which then tend to cavitate. The term is similar but may not be identical to cystic pulmonary metastases in which the wall of the former may be thicker.
Epidemiology
Cavitation is thought to occur in around 4% of lung metastases 2.
...
Article
Cavitatory pulmonary sarcoidosis
Cavitatory pulmonary sarcoidosis is a very uncommon pulmonary manifestation of sarcoidosis. It is usually reported in those with severe and active disease and its published prevalence is around 2% of all pulmonary sarcoidosis 2.
Differential diagnosis
Imaging differential considerations inclu...
Article
Cellular non-specific interstitial pneumonitis
Cellular non-specific interstitial pneumonia is one of the two histological subtypes of non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP). It is less common compared with fibrotic NSIP but carries a much better prognosis.
Clinical presentation
Symptoms are non-specific and include insidious onset of...
Article
Central bronchiectasis
Distribution of bronchiectasis can help in narrowing the differential diagnosis. Central bronchiectasis is typically seen in:
allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA)
congenital tracheobronchomegaly (a.k.a. Mounier Kuhn syndrome)
cystic fibrosis
Williams Campbell syndrome (rare)
See a...
Article
Central control of respiration
A number of cell groups in the reticular formation of the pons and medulla are responsible for the central control of the respiratory cycle:
inspiratory center (a.k.a. dorsal respiratory group) - bilateral groups of cells in the region of the nucleus of the tractus solitarius in the dorsum of t...