Archives of the AFIP -- RadioGraphics

Figure Legend | Panel A | Panel B | Panel C

Figure 5: Pleural plaques. Panel A Posteroanterior (PA) chest radiograph (close-up view of the left hemithorax) of an asymptomatic patient with a history of occupational asbestos exposure shows multiple pleural plaques (white arrowheads) distributed along the ribs. The costophrenic angles and the apices were spared. Calcified pleural plaques (black arrowhead) are shown over the diaphragmatic pleura. Panel B Contrast material-enhanced chest CT scan (mediastinal window) of a 73-year-old man shows early calcification in small pleural plaques in the left posterior pleura (arrows). The fluid collection in the middle mediastinum (E) represents extension of a massive right pleural effusion caused by a right MPM. Panel C PA chest radiograph of a 67-year-old man with a history of occupational exposure to asbestos shows prominent bilateral pleural plaques, some of which contain calcification. Dense focal calcification is visible in a plaque on the left hemidiaphragm. The apices and costophrenic angles are spared.

Return to: Etiology and Epidemiology of MPM