Disorders of the Pleura, Hila, and Mediastinum

Abstract

February 2004

Section 14 Respiratory Medicine

IX Disorders of the Pleura, Hila, and Mediastinum

Gerald W. Staton, Jr., M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Crawford Long Hospital at Emory University School of Medicine

Roland H. Ingram, Jr., M.D.
Martha West Looney Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine

This chapter discusses the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the pleura, including pleurisy, pleural effusion, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, pleural calcification, and pneumothorax. Normal anatomy of the hila and mediastinum is reviewed, and the following disorders are discussed: hilar enlargement, acute mediastinitis, mediastinal widening and mass lesions, and pneumomediastinum. The tables list the causes of hydrothorax and mediastinal widening and review the classification and treatment of parapneumonic effusions and empyema. The figures present numerous radiographic images of the presentations discussed, as well as an alogorithm depicting a diagnostic approach to a patient with pleural effusion. This chapter contains 98 references.

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