In many patients with lung cancer, chest CT that includes the neck base followed by US-guided sampling of enlarged supraclavicular lymph nodes is a simple and safe method for simultaneously establishing a tissue diagnosis and tumor nonresectability.
Pericardial sinuses and recesses are more frequently and better depicted on thin-section CT scans. Knowledge of their locations and shapes is helpful for distinguishing pericardial fluid from abnormal findings such as lymphadenopathy and cystic lesions.
The large airways can be affected by a wide spectrum of acquired benign and malignant diseases. These lesions may present as focal or diffuse processes and with narrowing or widening of the airway. Some of these may be asymptomatic for quite some time and may be incidentally detected on imaging, while others may be symptomatic, causing airway compromise. There may be a characteristic radiograph and computed tomography (CT) appearance, suggesting a narrow differential. When the imaging findings are not definitive, tissue may be obtained for pathological analysis. It behooves the radiologist to be familiar with the pathologic findings that correlate with the radiographic or CT appearance of the most frequently seen large airway lesions. In this way, we may improve our diagnostic accuracy. This paper will present the imaging findings of the most prevalent tracheobronchial lesions along with any associated pathology.Teaching Points• The large airways can be affected by many acquired benign and malignant diseases.• Large airway lesions may present as focal or diffuse processes, with narrowing or widening.• There may or may not be characteristic imaging appearance of large airway disease.• If imaging findings are not definitive, tissue may be obtained for pathological analysis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.