Radiology: Abnormal Chest X-Rays Part II

Today we’ll talk about additional interesting chest x-ray findings, including nodules, masses, atelectasis, scarring, pneumothorax, pleural effusion, rib fractures, and heart failure.

Relevant review posts: normal chest anatomy, normal chest x-rays, abnormal chest x-rays part I.

Nodules, Masses, and Tumors

Quick summary of terminology:

• a nodule is smaller than 3 cm in diameter
• a mass is bigger than 3 cm in diameter
• a “tumor” is some kind of abnormal tissue growth. It can be non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant)
• Thus, a small tumor (❤ cm) could show up as a “nodule” on an x-ray, and a big tumor (>3 cm) could show up as a “mass.”

The above image shows a “ solitary pulmonary nodule”, also known as a “ coin lesion “ because it’s roughly coin-shaped and coin-sized. 80% of coin lesions are benign, and 20% are malignant.

Note that an actual coin (like a penny or a quarter) would show up as super white — e.g. this x-ray of a swallowed coin — because coins are metal and reflect x-rays.

Not all nodules are “solitary pulmonary nodules.” There might be multiple nodules. This image shows multiple lung nodules (indicated by the black and white…