Radiographic aspects of pneumothorax.
Pneumothorax is a common medical problem of varied etiology. Because pneumothorax has potentially severe acute consequences, it is important that all physicians know its radiographic appearance. Patient complaints are nonspecific, and physical examination findings are often subtle. The chest radiograph is the principal means of detecting and following a pneumothorax. Radiographic diagnosis on an upright film requires the detection of the visceral pleural line. For radiographs obtained with the patient in the supine position, pneumothorax may be manifested by increased lucency over the upper quadrant of the abdomen, an unusually sharp definition of the anterior diaphragmatic surface or a very wide and deep costophrenic angle.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Spillane
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Shepard
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Deluca
D006801:Humans; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D011859:Radiography