Solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) are defined as solitary lesions surrounded by normal lung parenchyma, not associated with atelectesis or hilar enlargement. In the past, lesions as large as 6 cm were classified as SPN, but now an appreciation that lesions ≥3 cm are almost always malignant has led to the belief that a 3 cm cutoff may be more useful. Lesions >3cm are sometimes referred to as solitary mass lesions. They are most often found on routine chest x-ray (CXR; incidence 0.1–2%: 130,000 new SPN/year) and are usually asymptomatic.
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Esposito, D. (2008). Solitary Pulmonary Nodules. In: Myers, J.A., Millikan, K.W., Saclarides, T.J. (eds) Common Surgical Diseases. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75246-4_77
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75246-4_77
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