Pulmonary cyst
Updates to Article Attributes
Body
was changed:
Pulmonary cysts are round, thin-walled, low attenuation spaces/lucencies in the lung. Lung cysts usually contain air but occasionally also contain fluid or solid material 5.
Pathology
In contradistinction to all other organs, the term cyst as used in the lung is a misnomer, as it usually refers to a contained focus of gas, not fluid.
Pulmonary cysts can be congenital or acquired. Multiple lung cysts in a child may be associated with an underlying process although this is rare, e.g. pleuropulmonary blastomas 1.
Differential diagnosis
There are several specific types of thin-walled cystic spaces in the lungs 6,7:
- bleb: pleural/subpleural, ≤1-2 cm diameter
- bulla: pleural/subpleural, ≥1-2 cm diameter
- honeycombing: subpleural stacks of cysts, typically 3-10 mm diameter with walls 1-3 mm in thickness
- pneumatocele: usually transient cystic airspace within the lung, usually due to pneumonia or trauma
There are several mimics of pulmonary cysts:
- pulmonary cavity: surrounded by mass, nodule, or consolidation, creating wall thickness >2-4 mm 4-6
- emphysema: lucencies without wall and with central vessel
- cystic bronchiectasis: contiguous with other airways
- occasionally lung cancer may appear as thin walled cystic lung cancer
See also
-<a href="/articles/pulmonary-cavitation">pulmonary cavity</a>: surrounded by mass, nodule, or consolidation, creating wall thickness >2-4 mm <sup>4-6</sup>- +<a href="/articles/pulmonary-cavities-1">pulmonary cavity</a>: surrounded by mass, nodule, or consolidation, creating wall thickness >2-4 mm <sup>4-6</sup>
- +<li>occasionally <a title="Lung cancer" href="/articles/lung-cancer-3">lung cancer</a> may appear as <a title="thin walled cystic lung cancer" href="/articles/thin-walled-cystic-lung-cancer">thin walled cystic lung cancer</a>
- +</li>
References changed:
- 8. Deng H, Zhang J, Zhao S, Zhang J, Jiang H, Chen X, Wang D, Gao J, Wu C, Pan L, Wang Y, Xue X. Thin-wall cystic lung cancer: A study of 45 cases. (2018) Oncology letters. 16 (1): 755-760. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.8707">doi:10.3892/ol.2018.8707</a> - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29963142">Pubmed</a> <span class="ref_v4"></span>
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