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Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Cysts, Education, CT, Thorax, Respiratory system, Lung
Authors:
D. C. Caltabiano, V. Costanzo, L. Mammino, V. Vindigni, S. Torrisi, R. Rosso, L. A. Mauro, C. Vancheri, S. Palmucci; Catania/IT
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2017/C-2141
Background
The term “cyst” indicates a round circumscribed space,
usually less than the diameter of centimeter,
surrounded by an epithelial or fibrous wall of variable thickness [1].
In TC scans,
the cyst appears as an oval area of low parenchymal attenuation,
showing well-defined interface with the surrounding lung parenchyma; they may have a variable wall thickness,
although – in most cases – they are usually limited by a thin wall (< 2 mm).
Pulmonary cysts may occur with or without signs of emphysema.
Their content is predominantly air,
although they sometimes can enclose fluid or corpuscular material.
More in detail,
the lung cysts encountered in pulmonary diseases can be classified by the wall thickness (thin or thick),
by anatomical distribution (spread or with savings of particular areas of the lung),
and by clinical manifestation (infectious and non-infectious disease) (Table 1).
Table 1
References: Radiodiagnostic and Radiotherapy Unit - University Hospital "Policlinico Vittorio-Emanuele" Catania
Hereby,
we provide a brief description of pulmonary cyst appearance for different lung diseases,
emphasizing their imaging features; in addition,
schematic free-hand drawings are provided for main pulmonary cysts,
to easily guide residents and young radiologists in their interpretation.