Body Part - Chest
CONTUSION
A “bruise” of a body part caused by trauma.
COPD
This stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. COPD is a class of lung diseases that damage the airways and make it hard to breathe. Common examples of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
CORE NEEDLE BIOPSY
A biopsy technique that involves sampling a lung mass by inserting a needle through the skin. A tiny worm-shaped sample (core) is obtained. It is slightly more risky (for pneumothorax and other complications) than a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA), but usually results in a more accurate diagnosis.
COSTOPHRENIC ANGLES
The lower outer corners of the lungs.
DEGENERATIVE CHANGES
This can be thought of as age-related “wear and tear” changes. This term is commonly used to describe the spine on a chest x-ray.
DENSITY
A white spot seen on a chest x-ray. This may represent an area of infection, compressed lung (atelectasis) or inflammation. Also known as “opacity” or “infiltrate”.
DEPENDENT
Adjective. This describes the part of the body that is closest to the ground. For a person lying down on his back, dependent lungs mean the posterior (back) part of the lungs. For a person lying on his stomach, dependent lungs mean the anterior (front) part of the lungs. For a person lying on his right side, dependent lung means the far right part of his right lung.
DESCENDING AORTA
Part of the aorta that is located in the back of the chest. Blood within the descending aorta flows towards the feet.
DIAPHRAGM
A thin muscle that separates the chest and abdomen. It is made up of the right hemidiaphragm and the left hemidiaphragm. It is a major muscle for breathing.
DIFFUSION
An MRI technique that helps to characterize tissue in the body this is abnormal. Often an area of ischemia or stroke will appear as a bright spot on diffusion MRI.
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