The following is the summary of “Radiographic Distribution as a Diagnostic Clue in Pulmonary Disease” published in the January 2023 issue of Respiratory Care by Bhardwaj, et al.
Because certain disease processes produce radiographic abnormalities that occur in specific distributions in the chest, classifying the position and appearance of these suggestive features and the underlying diseases provides a tool that could be used to improve diagnostic accuracy. Again, this is because certain disease processes produce radiographic abnormalities. Therefore, a taxonomy of various illness entities that can create characteristic chest radiographic distributions is the objective of this review, which aims to provide the chest doctor with such a taxonomy.
These radiographic distributions frequently reflect anatomic or physiologic conditions that drive the radiographic appearance; for instance, the foramen of Morgagni diaphragmatic hernias most commonly present in the right ventral chest, which is consistent with the anatomic location of the diaphragmatic foramen. This taxonomy includes three distributional categories: processes that are predominant in the upper versus lower lung zone; processes that are central versus those that are peripheral; and processes that have distinctive focal locations, such as a “photonegative appearance” as seen in chronic eosinophilic pneumonia.
It is intended that the chest doctor will find this taxonomy helpful in formulating and simplifying a differential diagnosis and in determining the precise cause of disorders that are accompanied by radiographic anomalies.
Source: rc.rcjournal.com/content/68/1/151
