Rounded Atelectasis, Comet-Tail Sign, and Crow’s Foot Sign

Abstract

Rounded atelectasis (↑) represents a local collapse of a lung in the form of a ball-shaped zone of consolidation usually combined with pathologic changes of the pleura and architectonical disturbance of the surrounding pulmonary tissue. In the formation of rounded atelectasis, the proximally located vessels, bronchi, and interstitial tissue fold and twist which results in a comet-tail appearance on images – the “comet-tail” sign (∆). A group of randomly located interstitial bundles in the lungs predominantly directed to the thickened pleura can precede the formation of rounded atelectasis mimicking a bird’s paw – the “crow’s foot” sign (►►). The local thickenings of the pleura, the “comet-tail” sign, and the rounded atelectasis quite often occur in asbestosis but are not specific for this disease.

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Rounded atelectasis (↑) represents a local collapse of a lung in the form of a ball-shaped zone of consolidation usually combined with pathologic changes of the pleura and architectonical disturbance of the surrounding pulmonary tissue. In the formation of rounded atelectasis, the proximally located vessels, bronchi, and interstitial tissue fold and twist which results in a comet-tail appearance on images – the “comet-tail” sign (∆). A group of randomly located interstitial bundles in the lungs predominantly directed to the thickened pleura can precede the formation of rounded atelectasis mimicking a bird’s paw – the “crow’s foot” sign (►►). The local thickenings of the pleura, the “comet-tail” sign, and the rounded atelectasis quite often occur in asbestosis but are not specific for this disease.