Lines/Stripes/Spaces Flashcards
1
Q
What is the aortopulmonary window?
A
- space under the aortic arch and above the left pulmonary artery
- traversed by ligamentum arteriosum (remnant of ductus arteriosus) and recurrent largyngeal nerve
2
Q
What is the subcarinal space?
A
- located inferior to the carina, bounded by main bronchi
- site where adenopathy occurs
3
Q
What is the prevascular space? What is contained within this space?
A
- located anterior to the pulmonary artery, ascending aorta, and chest wall; lies b/w both lungs and bounded anteriorly by the chest wall
- contains left brachiocephalic vein, internal mammary arteries, lymph nodes, thymus, and phrenic nerve
4
Q
How do the anterior and posterior junctional lines show up radiographically? What processes would cause them to be displaced?
A
Anterior junctional line
- right and left lung approximate anterior to the heart and below the manubrium
appears as an oblique line crossing the superior two-thirds of the sternum from upper right to lower left
composed of 4 layers of pleura; difficult to see sometimes due to thymus and fat
Posterior junctional line
- formed by apposition of the visceral and parietal pleura of the posteromedial potions of the lungs anterior to the esophagus and anterior to the third through fifth thoracic vertebrae
- appears as straight or mildly convex line typically projecting through the trachea; extends to the lung apices projecting over the clavicles
- abnormal bulging or convexity: esophageal mass, lymphadenopathy, aortic disease, or neurogenic tumors
5
Q
What makes up the azygoesophageal line? How does it appear radiographically?
A
- right lower lobe makes contact with the right wall of the esophagus and the azygos vein as it ascends next to the esophagus
- seen on frontal chest radiograph below the aortic arch
6
Q
What makes up the paraspinal lines? How do they appear radiographically?
A
- stripes parallel to the left and right margins of the spine
- formed by approximation of lung with spine
