Thorax Continued

Question 1

What is the eternal notch? What is another name for it?

Answer 1

Centering landmark in CT of the thorax

AKA; jugular notch

Question 2

What is the sternal angle?

Answer 2

Where the manubrium meets the body of the sternum. May also describe the angle to be parallel to table with breast board

Question 3

What is the apex of the lung?

Answer 3

Top, most superior, above the level of the first rib

Question 4

What is the diaphragm?

Answer 4

Concave shaped base of lungs

Question 5

What are the angles of the lungs?

Answer 5

Medial; cardiophrenic and lateral;costophrenic

Question 6

What is the Hilum of the lung?

Answer 6

An opening on the medial surface of the lungs for passage of bronchi,blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves

Question 7

The lobes of the lungs are divided by what? How many lobes are there in each lung?

Answer 7

Divided by fissure

right side has 3 lobes and the left side has only 2 lobes

Question 8

Why is the diaphragm higher on the right side? Why does the right lung only have 2 lobes?

Answer 8

Liver is below

Question 9

How does the pleural cavity move?

Answer 9

Moves with the structures as a whole

Question 10

What is the visceral pleura?

Answer 10

The inner layer of the pleural cavity, covers out surface of lungs, even between the lobes

Question 11

The trachea splits in the right and left what? At what level does this split occur? What is another name for it?

Answer 11

The right and left mainstream bronchus at the T4-5 level; called the carina

Question 12

What is the mediastinum ?

Answer 12

Midline between the two lungs

Question 13

What structures does the mediastinum contain?

Answer 13

Thymus gland, heart, great vessels, trachea, esophagus, thoracic duct, lymph nodes

Question 14

What does the thymus gland produce?

Answer 14

Lymphocytes

Question 15

What is the function of the thymus gland?

Answer 15

Aids in development of the immune system, large in children and decreases in size with age

Question 16

What surrounds the heart?

Answer 16

Pericardium

Question 17

The apex and base of the heart are located where?

Answer 17

Apex: inferior part

Base: superior part

Question 18

What is coopers ligament?

Answer 18

Connective tissue in the breast that help maintain structure

Question 19

What is the noise of an image?

Answer 19

Speckled appearance of the CT image caused by insufficient photons reaching the detectors (large patients)

Question 20

Artifacts in imaging are described as?

Answer 20

Being seen on the image but is not present on the object being scanned

Ex: metal implants, dense materials cause streak artifacts

Question 21

What are out of field artifacts?

Answer 21

Parts of the patient lying outside the scan field, causes inaccuracies in the image

Question 22

Common names of some processing algorithms

Answer 22

Algorithm, convolution filter, CR filter, FC number, or just filter

Question 23

An algorithm is defined as?

Answer 23

Any method of solving a certain type of problem. In CT the problem is to recreate an image that accurately represents the object scanned

Question 24

What is filtering?

Answer 24

Generally made from Teflon or aluminum, within the CT system that help to reduce the range of x-ray energies that reach the patient

Question 25

How does filtering improve the image?

Answer 25

Creates a more uniform beam intensity

Question 26

What are bow tie filters?

Answer 26

Filters used to reduce the beam intensity, corresponding to the thinner areas of a patient’s anatomy

Question 27

What is the window width?

Answer 27

Mechanism that determines the range of hounsfield numbers that will be represented on a particular image

Question 28

By widening the width you can ensure what?

Answer 28

More numbers are assigned to each shade of gray

Question 29

Wider window settings will decrease what?

Answer 29

The contrast and the display of noise on an image

Question 30

What is the window level?

Answer 30

Mechanism that selects the center CT value of the window width, it selects which set of HU numbers will be displayed

Question 31

The window width is also known as the?

Answer 31

Density or the brightness of the image

Question 32

The window level is also known as the ?

Answer 32

Contrast level of the image

Question 33

What is 3-dimensional reformation?

Answer 33

Performed with special software, individual slices are combined and smoothed so that their merged surfaces resemble the intact patient structure

Most helpful in tumor mapping, assesses isodose lines in relation to the tumor volume

Question 34

What does the sternum articulate with?

Answer 34

First two pairs of ribs and the clavicles

Question 35

The sternum articulates with the clavicle where?

Answer 35

At the clavicles notch to form the sternoclavicular joints (sc)

Question 36

What level is the jugular notch located?

Answer 36

Superior border of the border of the manubrium at approximately T2-T3

Question 37

What level is the sternal angle located?

Answer 37

Aprox T4-T5

Question 38

What does the thoracic inlet allow for?

Answer 38

Passage of nerves, vessels, and viscera from the neck into the thoracic cavity

Question 39

Difference between the visceral and parietal pleura?

Answer 39

Parietal pleura is outer layer which is continuous with the thoracic wall and diaphragm, moves with structures during respiration

Visceral pleura is the inner layer that closely covers the outer surface of the lung and continues into the fissures to cover the individual lobes