[Assessment of the diagnostic significance of the pleural indentation sign].
Varying manifestations of the pleural indentation sign as well as their pathologic basis were discussed. It was found that the opacity shadow standing for this kind of sign on radiograph was attributed to not only pleural indentation, but also pleural adhesion, and sometimes, lobular collapse around the lesion. Both its occurrence and morphology showed no significant difference between the lung cancer and the tuberculoma. In the light of pulmonary connective tissue theory, any lesion located at periphery of the lung and accompanied by remarkable desmoplasia and cicatricial contraction, no matter whether malignant or benign, may cause pleural shrinkage or indentation. Therefore, the pleural indentation sign does not exclusively appear in the lung cancer. It would lead us onto a wrong path if differentiation is made by overemphasizing its value. It may be radiologically helpful only in identifying the types of the lung cancer owing to its high occurrence rate in adenocarcinoma and bronchioalveolar carcinoma.
Ma
K
K
General Hospital of PLA.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002282:Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D010994:Pleura / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D011859:Radiography; D000267:Tissue Adhesions; D014375:Tuberculoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging