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Semeiology of the Mediastinum

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Comparative Interpretation of CT and Standard Radiography of the Chest

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

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Abstract

In the past, the mediastinum has been considered as the so-called “black-box” of thoracic radiology. Nowadays, CT and MRI nicely depict and explain “the who’s and the why’s” of the mediastinal lines in physiological as well in pathological conditions. The aim of this chapter is to emphasize on the important role of basic radiological findings in standard diagnostic chest XR interpretation and to correlate the radiological anatomy with cross-sectional imaging. The mediastinal lines can be defined as linear structures (reflections) visible on the conventional X-ray, formed by points of contact of the mediastinal soft tissues and the adjacent aerated lung or contact of pulmonary tissue by intervening soft tissue. Normal anatomic structures of the mediastinum may be altered by mediastinal disease. This alteration of normal anatomy and the accompanying displacement of the mediastinal lines and spaces may alert the radiologist to the presence of a mediastinal mass. Thus, familiarity with the appearance of normal mediastinal structures on chest radiography is the first crucial part in locating and identifying an abnormality. These elements will further on permit to narrow the differential diagnosis and possibly influence the choice of modality for further diagnostic imaging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, UZ Gent, De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Robert Gosselin, Catherine Heysse & Philippe Duyck

  2. Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

    Louke Delrue

  3. Department of Radiology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Bart Ilsen

  4. Department of Radiology, AZ-VUB, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussel, Belgium

    Johan de Mey

Authors
  1. Robert Gosselin
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  2. Louke Delrue
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  3. Bart Ilsen
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  4. Catherine Heysse
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  5. Johan de Mey
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  6. Philippe Duyck
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Correspondence to Robert Gosselin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinique Saint Luc, Dept. Radiology, Université Catholique Louvain, avenue Hippocrate 10, Bruxelles, 1200, Belgium

    Emmanuel E. Coche

  2. Service Imagerie Médicale, CHU de Liège, Liège, 4000, Belgium

    Benoit Ghaye

  3. Academisch Ziekenhuis, Afd. Radiologie, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, Bruxelles, 1090, Belgium

    Johan de Mey

  4. Academisch Ziekenhuis, Afd. Radiologie, Universiteit Gent, De Pintelaan 185, Gent, 9000, Belgium

    Philippe Duyck

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© 2011 Springer Berlin Heidelberg

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Gosselin, R., Delrue, L., Ilsen, B., Heysse, C., de Mey, J., Duyck, P. (2011). Semeiology of the Mediastinum. In: Coche, E., Ghaye, B., de Mey, J., Duyck, P. (eds) Comparative Interpretation of CT and Standard Radiography of the Chest. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79942-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79942-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-79941-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-79942-9

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