Radiographic evaluation of chest-wall lesions

Multiple imaging modalities are available today for the evaluation of the wide variety of pathologic processes that affect the chest wall. However, the evaluation of nearly all abnormalities still begins with conventional radiographs. Careful analysis of these films, along with the judicious use of chest fluoroscopy and conventional tomography, frequently can lead to the correct diagnosis without resorting to the more expensive modalities. However, the precise anatomic location and characterization of many lesions requires the cross-sectional imaging capabilities of CT or MRI. In the appropriate clinical settings, these newer modalities often yield important information that leads to a specific diagnosis or demonstrates the full extent of a disease process. They may also be helpful in providing anatomic localization of lesions for percutaneous biopsy or surgical planning.