Chest X-ray Interpretation Videos
Chest X-ray Interpretation
Chest x-ray interpretation
Terms:
- normal chest x-ray, blood vessels passing through lung parenchyma and branching off, branch of the pulmonary artery, trachea, right main bronchus, left main bronchus, carina
- right and left heart borders, right and left hemidiaphragms, mediastinum, heart size, if the maximum transverse diameter of heart is bigger than the hemidiaphragm, then the heart is considered enlarged
- posterior-anterior view, PA view, (x-rays came from the back side of the patient), traditionally radiologists will not comment on cardiac size on an AP view,
- In a number of x-rays you won’t be able to see the horizontal fissure, but very often you will see an opaque flat horizontal line (on the right of the patient) which is known as the horizontal fissure, which separates the right superior lobe and right middle lobe.
- Oblique fissure is only visible on the lateral view
- Costophrenic angles, If there is a small pleura effusion, this is the area (that will be affected) and you won’t be able to see either the right or left costophrenic angles, depending upon which lung the pleural effusion is in
- mediastinum, cardiac size
- consolidation in right superior lobe, you can see air bronchogram, which means that the bronchial branches are filled with air, and the background is opaque; you can see these branches clearly
- horizontal fissure, the consolidation is limited to one lobe, and this is a very good example of lobar pneumonia. Consolidation means the area is filled with exudates, and exudates can be blood, fibrin, fluid, and pus. Both right and left costophrenic angles are again clearly visible, cardiac size is not bigger than hemidiaphragm, so it’s normal. Trachea is not shift toward right or left, and mediastinum is normal.
- another chest x-ray, that shows consolidation in the left lingualal region; the left cardiac border is not visible,
- another chest x-ray shows massive consolidation in the right middle lobe and right inferior lobe; also left inferior lobe is consolidated, the patient is rotated toward the left hand side, and it is probably an AP view, so it is not a good idea to comment on cardiac size here.
- another chest x-ray shows massive pleural effusion. The right lung is normal; more than half of the left lung is not visible here, left heart border is not visible here, the left hemidiaphragm is not visible, the left costophrenic angle is not visible. There is a gap between rib cage and lung here, and this is fluid density. So this is a massive pleural effusion,
Categorised as: chest x-ray