In the article, we consider what the strengthening of the pulmonary pattern on fluorography means.
A chest x-ray is a standard procedure that is performed annually to identify pathologies in the heart and lungs in the early stages of their development. This diagnostic method allows you to detect the primary signs of complex diseases such as oncology, pneumonia, tuberculosis. Often, increasing the pulmonary pattern on fluorography puts the radiologist in a difficult position, because such a phenomenon does not always indicate the presence of serious ailments.
Description
The term "pulmonary pattern" refers to the display of a vascular network passing through the lung tissue. In the pictures taken during the examination of a healthy person, the vasculature is more clearly visible at the roots. This is due to the fact that the largest vessels are located in this zone. The pattern becomes paler as the vessels approach the borders of the pulmonary field, that is, at the periphery, the pulmonary vascular system is not clearly visible. An X-ray may show abnormalities such as deformation or amplification of the pulmonary pattern. What does all this mean?
What should the picture look like normal?
In a healthy person, a snapshot obtained by fluorography, looks like this:
- Drawings of the right and left lung should be of the same clarity.
- The vessels in the image have straight branches.
- By its general appearance, the contour of the lungs resembles a butterfly, the vascular branches are even and fan-shaped.
- From the roots of the lung to its periphery, the vascular network display intensity decreases. Shadows end at about one third of the outer border of the chest.
- The visibility of the vascular network should be lower than the visibility of the costal shadows.
- The thickness of the vessels in the image should decrease evenly from the root to the periphery of the lungs.
A pulmonary pattern is formed by a network of arteries emerging from the pulmonary root. In a healthy bronchopulmonary system, the vasculature evenly narrows from the root zone to the external outline of the lungs.
Possible pathologies
When strengthening the pulmonary pattern on fluorography from the root of the lung and along its entire surface, the image of the vessels is viewed uniformly clearly. That is, in the picture you can clearly see the drawings of the upper and lower lung lobes.
This phenomenon indicates the presence of pathological conditions such as:
- Pulmonary edema.
- Bronchitis in a chronic, obstructive, acute form.
- Heart disease (acquired, congenital).
- Pneumonia.
- Cancer neoplasm.
- Tuberculosis.
- Pneumoconiosis, silicosis and some other diseases of a professional nature.
Diffuse and local type
Strengthening of the pulmonary pattern on fluorography, depending on the type and prevalence of the pathological phenomenon, may have a diffuse or local type. Diseases such as focal pneumonia and neoplasms of a malignant nature are displayed on the image by one or more inflammatory foci. These processes cause an increase in the pattern precisely in those areas where the development of pathology is observed. This phenomenon is called local amplification of the pulmonary pattern.
When an extensive pathology is observed in the lungs, the pattern is enhanced on the entire surface of the lungs and bronchi from their roots to the external borders. Diffuse pulmonary pattern may be enhanced due to the presence of pathological processes such as bronchitis in obstructive and chronic forms, croupous pneumonia, miliary tuberculosis.
Reasons for a healthy person
In some cases, the amplification of the pulmonary pattern on fluorography 07 occurs without pathological processes. It happens that a person feels good, but with a fluorographic study, a deviation is detected in the pictures. If the vascular pattern is strengthened in the zone of the pulmonary root, then this is not considered a sign of pathology. The vascular network can be intensely displayed on images for a number of reasons:
- Individual features in the structure of the network of vessels of the bronchopulmonary tree.
- A recent bronchial disease. If a person has had ARVI, pleurisy, bronchitis, vessels located in the basal zone can be intensely displayed on fluorographic images.
- Natural changes in the human body due to age. The vascular pattern can be strengthened due to the use of vasodilator drugs, high blood pressure.
A residual cough after a recent cold has often caused minor inflammation in the bronchi. In some cases, a similar phenomenon is displayed by an increase in the pulmonary pattern in the basal zone in fluorography images. This does not mean a serious pathology and does not require a thorough examination. It is enough to consult a doctor so that he excludes wheezing in the lungs and prescribes drugs to cure the residual effects of the disease.
Lung deformation
Deformations, as well as an increase in the pulmonary pattern of the lungs in the images, are not always evidence of the presence of any pathological phenomenon. However, some differences still exist:
- With deformations of the vascular pattern, changes in the natural arrangement of the outlines of the vessels can be observed.
- When the pulmonary pattern is strengthened, an exceptionally increased clarity of the display of the vascular network in the root zone and on the periphery of the lungs is observed, however, the vascular branches in this case are regular and straight.
On images with a deformed pulmonary pattern, uneven blood vessels and shadows can be observed, their outlines in different zones vary and expand from the root to the periphery.
What is this talking about?
As with pattern reinforcement, deformation can manifest itself only in some areas, and can be spread over the entire surface of the pulmonary field:
- With the appearance of local changes in the outlines of blood vessels and their expansion, it can be judged that a person has recently undergone an inflammatory process.
- If the vascular branches have irregular contours over a large area, then we can draw a conclusion about the extensive processes of a pathological nature.
It should be noted that after acute respiratory viral infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, deformations and increased vascular pattern of the lungs are not constantly observed. This phenomenon is most often temporary, and the changes disappear a few weeks after the person fully recovers.
There is also an increase in pulmonary X-ray pattern. What does this mean, we explained.
Concomitant symptoms, additional diagnostics
With diffuse lung lesions observed in fluorographic images, as a rule, concomitant signs are noted, expressed by the following symptoms:
- Rare or increasing cough.
- High blood pressure.
- Soreness in the heart.
- Bouts of suffocation.
- Severe shortness of breath.
- Departure of bloody, purulent sputum.
- Fever to subfebrile marks.
If the fluorographic images show an increase in the pattern in significant areas, then the patient is shown an additional examination. As a rule, a laboratory study of sputum samples, a repeat x-ray, an ECG, and urine and blood tests are prescribed.
If the patient does not have additional complaints, then the need for additional diagnosis is determined by the attending physician. In the case when the fluorographic image shows local deviations in the form of dilated vessels in the root zone or deformation of the contours of the vascular network in people who smoke, the doctor may recommend a second x-ray or consider the phenomenon temporary.
Thus, the reinforcement and deformation of the pulmonary pattern is not always indicative of existing pathologies. In some cases, vasodilation is observed due to recent illnesses. If there are extensive deformations in the pictures, experts recommend that the patient undergo additional diagnostics and find out the reasons for this deviation.
Reviews
Patients report that the fluorographic examination is completely painless and takes a minimum of time, but at the same time, it reveals possible pathological processes in the early stages. In addition, deviations in the pictures do not always indicate a disease, but consultation with a specialist and additional examination in this case will not be superfluous. This will avoid possible complications in the future.
We examined what it means to strengthen the pulmonary pattern on fluorography.