Pulmonary opacities/nodules are common findings on computed tomography examinations, which may represent an underlying infections or malignancy. However, not every pulmonary nodule or opacity represents malignancy or infection. We present a pictorial essay illustrating common as well as obscure noninfectious, nonmalignant pulmonary lesions. Lesions discussed include organizing pneumonia, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, pulmonary amyloidosis, hyalinizing granuloma, tumourlet (benign localized neuroendocrine cell proliferations), atypical alveolar hyperplasia, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour, papillary alveolar adenoma, plasma cell granuloma, juvenile xanthogranuloma, and sclerosing hemangiomas. We discuss the clinical presentation, prevalence, radiographic clues, pathology, and diagnostic pitfalls of these rare lesions.
Keywords: Atypical alveolar hyperplasia; Computed tomography; Hyalinizing granuloma; Inflammatory myofibrolastic tumour; Juvenile xanthogranuloma; Langerhans cell histiocytosis; Organizing pneumonia; Papillary alveolar adenoma; Plasma cell granuloma; Pulmonary amyloidosis; Pulmonary nodule; Sclerosing hemangiomas; Tumourlet.
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