lung cavity

Introduction

Cavitation in a lung lesion suggests liquefaction necrosis with removal of necrotic cavitary contents through the cough reflex.

Etiology

• lung abscess
  • oral anaerobes
    • Bacteroides
    • fusobacteria
    • Actinomyces
    • anaerobic & microaerophilic cocci
  • enteric aerobic gram-negative bacilli
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Legionella
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Streptococcus pneumonia type III
• tuberculosis
  • especially upper lobe cavitary lesions in reactivation of tuberculosis
• Nocardia
• mycoses (fungal infection)
  • coccidioidomycosis
  • actinomycosis
  • histoplasmosis
  • Blastomyces
• cavitating pulmonary carcinoma
• cavitating metastatic tumor
• Wegener's granulomatosis
• pulmonary infarction
• infected bullae & cysts

More general terms

• cavity
• abnormal morphologic structure (malformation)

Additional terms

• solitary pulmonary nodule; pulmonary coin lesion