SEARCHED TERM
Cavity
DEFINITION
An air-filled space within lung consolidation. Consolidation may resolve and leave only a thin wall.
RELATED TERMS
MORE INFO
SOURCE DEFINITION
A cavity is an air-filled space within the lung parenchyma (tissue). They are usually seen on CXR within an area of lung that is consolidated (appears lighter) so that the cavity appears black/dark and is usually round/oval in shape. Cavities may contain air-fluid levels which appear as a horizontal line within the cavity space, with fluid below the line (appearing light/white) and gas above the line (appearing dark/black).
OTHER DEFINITIONS
Radiographic appearance of a hole in the lung parenchyma, typically not involving the pleural space, resulting from the destruction of pulmonary tissue by an interaction of M. tuberculosis infection and the host response seen in TB disease (or other pulmonary infections). TB patients with cavitary disease indicated by a chest radiograph typically are more infectious than TB patients without cavitary disease
Area of lucency with a fairly thick wall (more than 1mm), in which an area of bronchial drainage, demonstrated by opaque parallel lines, may be evident at the pole closest to the hilum of the lung
Hole in the lung parenchyma, typically not involving the pleural space. Although multiple causes can account for a lung cavity, and its appearance is similar regardless of its cause, in pulmonary TB, it results from the destruction of pulmonary tissue by direct bacterial invasion and an immune interaction triggered by M. tuberculosis. A tuberculous cavity large enough to see with a normal chest radiograph predicts infectiousness
CLOSE
