Body Part - Chest
NIPPLE MARKERS
Metallic BBs that are placed on the nipples to help the radiologist distinguish a nipple shadow from a lung mass.
NIPPLE SHADOW
Round white spots on a chest x-ray that are caused by the patient’s nipples. This is a normal finding, but it may be confused with an abnormality (i.e. pulmonary nodule).
NODULE
A white dot in the lung on a chest x-ray. This may represent early cancer. Alternatively, this can be associated with an infection, inflammation or metastatic disease. Also known as “pulmonary nodule” or “lung nodule”.
OPACITY
A white spot seen on a chest x-ray. This may represent an area of infection, compressed lung (atelectasis) or inflammation. Also known as “density” or “infiltrate”.
OSTEOPHYTE
Abnormal bony growth around joint from wear and tear. This is commonly seen with arthritis. It is not cancerous.
PA CHEST X-RAY
PA stands for posteroanterior. Chest x-ray that is taken from the back of the patient. This is one of the two standard chest x-rays taken (1. PA chest x-ray and 2. Lateral chest x-ray).
PANCOAST TUMOR
Cancer seen at the top of the right or left lung. It may compress a sympathetic ganglion (nerve) and result in Horner’s syndrome. Please see “Horner’s syndrome”.
PARAMEDIASTINAL
Adjective. It means to be located just next to the mediastinum.
PARIETAL PLEURA
Inner lining of the chest cavity. Please see “pleura”.
PERCUTANEOUS LUNG BIOPSY
Biopsy technique that involves sampling a lung mass by inserting a needle through the skin. The 2 types of percutaneous lung biopsies are 1) Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) and 2) Core Needle biopsy.
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