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The Normal Pediatric Chest

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Imaging in Pediatric Pulmonology

Abstract

Clinical symptoms for patients with respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease often overlap. One of the first tests for patients with respiratory distress is a chest radiograph. A chest film frequently can distinguish primary lung disease and congenital heart disease. The purpose of this chapter is to understand the appearance of a normal chest radiograph and which abnormalities point to cardiovascular disease. This chapter provides a simple approach in the use of a chest radiograph to distinguish patients with cardiovascular disease as the cause of their respiratory symptoms so that further appropriate testing can be performed. There are two major differences in the infant’s upper airway that differ from older children and adults. They are an exaggerated change in diameter of the intrathoracic trachea from inspiration to expiration and a change in course and configuration of the extrathoracic trachea from inspiration to expiration.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA

    Jeanne S. Chow MD

  2. Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Robert H. Cleveland MD

  3. Departments of Radiology and Medicine, Division of Respiratory Diseases, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA

    Robert H. Cleveland MD

Authors
  1. Jeanne S. Chow MD
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  2. Robert H. Cleveland MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeanne S. Chow MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Children's Hospital Boston, Dept. Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Longwood Ave. 300, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Robert H. Cleveland

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Chow, J.S., Cleveland, R.H. (2012). The Normal Pediatric Chest. In: Cleveland, R. (eds) Imaging in Pediatric Pulmonology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5872-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5872-3_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5871-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5872-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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