title: Wooden foreign bodies in CT. Case reports and experimental studies.
abstract: CT findings in 2 patients with a wooden foreign body in the orbital region soft tissue, and a series of CT measurements of wooden elements are presented. The wooden foreign bodies presented low HU numbers in CT and were initially interpreted as a gas collection. Different species of trees presented a large spectrum of densities, varying from the -550 HU of pine up to the +289 HU of ebony. The density of a spruce plank increased along with water-logging from -470 HU to -86 HU in 4 weeks, and peak enhancement up to 106 HU was found in the layer closest to the surface. It was concluded that a wooden foreign body in soft tissues may present CT patterns simulating materials as different as a gas bubble or a bone fragment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pyhtinen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ilkko
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lähde
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009915:Orbit; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014934:Wood