[Lung metastases--limitations and possibilities of radiologic diagnosis]

The different sensitivities of chest radiograph, full-lung tomography and computed tomography (CT) are determining factors in the diagnosis of pulmonary metastases. Pathogenesis and pathologic-anatomical morphology explain the radiological findings. Knowledge of spontaneous or therapy-induced changes and "sterilized" metastases is important for follow-up studies. The precise densitometry in CT improves the assessment of degree of a pulmonary disk-shaped lesion. Histological diagnosis may be obtained by fluoroscopically guided percutaneous thin-needle biopsy.