A round circumscribed space within a lung that is surrounded by an epithelial or fibrous wall of variable thickness. A cyst usually has a thin and regular wall (less than 2 mm) and contains air, although some may contain fluid. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20028879 ]
Synonyms: Lung cyst
Term information
The thin wall of cystic lesions differentiates them from cavitary processes, which have thicker and irregular walls and will not be discussed in this article. On chest radiographs, findings of a cyst are often subtle, consisting of lucencies and sometimes linear opacities. An air-fluid level can improve the visibility of a cyst and may suggest infection. For the investigation of cysts, CT is substantially more sensitive than chest radiography, showing a cyst as a ringlike lucency surrounded by a thin wall.
Term relations
- has part some (
increased amount and
characteristic of some (
cyst and
part of some lung) and
has modifier some abnormal)