Right Middle Lobe Atelectasis: Chest Radiographic and CT Appearances Correlating with the Clinical Features

Purpose: To evaluate chest radiographic and CT findings of right middle lobe (RML) atelectasis correlating with the clinical features. Materials and Methods: We reviewed 47 patients with RML atelectasis and classified their chest radiographic findings into four types (Type 1-4) based on the shape of the opacity. The degree of RML atelectasis was classified into three types according to CT findings, namely severe (>90%), moderate (50-90%), and mild (10-50%). Then we correlated them with chest radiographic types and patient\u27s symptoms. Results: In severe atelectasis (n=10), no definite abnormalities were detected on chest radiographs (Type 1). In moderate atelectasis (n=24), 14 cases (58%) showed triangular opacity (Type 2) and nine cases (38%) showed band-like opacity (Type 3) along the right cardiac border. In mild atelectasis (n=13), 11 cases (85%) showed vague opacity at the right lower lung field (Type 4). In severe atelectasis, only one case (10%) had symptoms. In contrast, 14 cases (58%) in moderate atelectasis and six cases (46%) in mild atelectasis had symptoms. Conclusion: Our results indicate that RML atelectasis has a very wide spectrum of imaging finding of chest radiograph and CT, and patient\u27s symptoms are related to the degree of atelectasis

High-Resolution CT Evaluation of Ground-Glass Opacity In Diffuse Lung Disease

Ground-glass opacity of the lung is often demonstrated on high-resolution CT (HRCT) in various diffuse lung diseases. Ground-glass opacity generally results from minimal thickening of the alveolar interstitium or partial filling in the alveolar spaces. We classify diffuse infiltrative lung diseases into two clinical categories, namely, noninfectious and infectious lung disease. In noninfectious lung disease, although ground-glass opacity can be observed as an isolated finding, it is commonly observed to be combined with other findings such as centrilobular micronodules, interlobular septal thickening, and cystic air-spaces. These associated findings may be important for the differential diagnosis. Ground-glass opacity may also be seen as a consequence of increased capillary blood volume in redistribution of blood flow. This condition of hemodynamic origin is observed in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, airway disease, and vascular lung disease. Although ground-glass opacity is a nonspecific finding, it can suggest a specific diagnosis in certain clinical circumstances or indicate a potentially treatable disease. Therefore, accurate recognition and differential diagnosis of ground-glass opacity are important

Computer aided diagnosis for severity assessment of pneumoconiosis using CT images

240,000 participants have a screening for diagnosis of pneumoconiosis every year in Japan. Radiograph is used for staging of severity in pneumoconiosis worldwide. This paper presents a method for quantitative assessment of severity in pneumoconiosis using both size and frequency of lung nodules that detected by thin-section CT images. This method consists of three steps. First, thoracic organs (body, ribs, spine, trachea, bronchi, lungs, heart, and pulmonary blood vessels) are segmented. Second, lung nodules that have radius over 1.5mm are detected. These steps used functions of our developed computer aided detection system of chest CT images. Third, severity in pneumoconiosis is quantified using size and frequency of lung nodules. This method was applied to nine pneumoconiosis patients. The initial results showed that proposed method can assess severity in pneumoconiosis quantitatively. This paper demonstrates effectiveness of our method in diagnosis and prognosis of pneumoconiosis in CT screening

Study of Normal Fissures Seen on Posteroanterior and Left Lateral Chest Radiographs

This study included consecutive 318 pairs of posteroanterior (PA) and left lateral (LL) chest radiographs taken under routinely used conditions with the patients in erect position. Major, minor and accessory fissures visualized on these radiographs were described according to their visibility, position, length and shape. On PA chest radiographs, superolateral major fissures in 54 (17%), superomedial major fissures in 20 (6%), minor fissures in 234 (74%), inferior accessory fissures in 19 (6%), superior accessory fissures in 12 (4%), left minor fissures in 16 (5%) and azygos fissure in 2 (0.6%) patients were seen. On LL chest radiographs, 266 (84%) right major fissures, 242 (76%) left major fissures, 210 (66%) minor fissures and 6 (2%) superior accessory fissures were seen. We have described the frequencies of various orientations, shapes and lengths of these fissures. This study not only supports the common knowledge of the appearances of pulmonary fissures but also explains numerically the various frequencies of these common patterns and variations seen in practice

Epidural Calcified Sequestration of Cervical Intervertebral Disk

A 57-year-old man with epidural calcified disk sequestration in the cervical spine, which was discovered after trauma, is reported. Differentiation between cervical disk herniation and other disease entities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was difficult. The confirmation of the presence of extradural calcification by computed tomography (CT) was helpful in the diagnosis of this disease

Toward understanding transcriptional regulatory networks in abiotic stress responses and tolerance in rice

長崎大学学位論文 [学位記番号]博（医歯薬）甲第1168号 [学位授与年月日]令和元年6月5

High-resolution CT Findings of Diffuse Lung Disease : Review Article

Introduction Computed tomography (CT), particularly high-resolution CT (HRCT), defines detailed lung morphology, and is useful in evaluating diffuse lung disease1,2 It allows assessment of the anatomic changes as well as physiologic responses in patients with diffuse lung disease. We herein review the HRCT findings of diffuse lung disease according to classification based on their predominant appearances