Interstitial lung disease
ABC's blunt chest trauma
Unilateral lung disease
Cardiophrenic angle mass
Honeycomb lung
Interstitial lung disease & hyperinflation
Nodules with air bronchograms
Chronic airspace consolidation
Apical Lung Disease
Basilar Lung Disease
Germ Cell Tumors
Systemic Pulmonary Artery Shunts
Contrast Enhancing Mediastinal Mass
Multiple thin-walled cavities
Solitary Lung Mass
Calcifying Metastases
Multiple Pleural Masses
Cavity

I am not ashamed to admit that my memory is imperfect. Because the practice of chest radiography encompasses the entire breadth of medical knowledge it is very difficult to consider all the possibilities for the different patterns of chest radiography. That's why I make liberal use of mnemonics (which I call "pneumonics";). Here are a couple which you should find useful.

Interstitial Lung Disease (top)

As a resident, I memorized a list based on tunafish. Unfortunately, this was difficult to remember because it had nothing to do with interstitial lung disease. As you know there are several hundred diseases that cause interstitial lung disease. With such a plenitude of choices, one would think that a resident at a teaching conference could at least remember a few but, unfortunately, this is not the case. There must be a Murphy's law-with more choices available-fewer can be remembered. The look on a first year resident's face as they struggle with a differential for interstitial lung disease was the inspiration for this pneumonic. Notice, as with any good pneumonic, either the most important or more common diseases appear at the top of the list. Even though the list is not very long, it encompasses 80-90% of interstitial lung disease seen in clinical practice.

Sarcoid
Histiocytosis X
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Tumor (Lymphangitic)
Failure
Asbestosis (and other dusts)
Collagen Vascular Disease
Environmental dusts (organic - farmer's lung, inorganic - silica, coal)
Drugs

 

ABC's of Trauma (top)
The chest radiograph is an economical and sensitive screening examination for the major injuries in the patient who has sustained blunt chest trauma. Just as the physician uses the ABC's to stabilize the critical ill patient (Airway, Breathing, Circulation), the radiologic ABC's prompt the radiologist to consider all of the critical injuries that may be sustained with blunt trauma. THE most critical injury is considered first.

Aortic Transection
Bronchial fracture
Cord injury (Thoracic spine)
Diaphragmatic rupture
Esophageal tear
Flail chest
Gas (subtle pneumothorax)
Heart (Cardiac injury)
Iatrogenic (Misplaced monitoring & support catheters)

 

PEARL: Causes of Unilateral Lung Disease (top)

Pneumonia
Edema
Aspiration
Radiation
Lymphangtic Tumor

 

FAT PAD: Cardiophrenic angle mass (top)

Fat
Pericardial cyst
Adenopathy/Aneurysm
Diaphragmatic Hernia

 

BIG HIPS: Honeycomb Lung (top)

Bleomycin
Idiopathic
Granulomas
Histiocytosis X
Interstitial pneumonia
Pneumoconiosis
Sarcoid

 

Late Night Sex: Interstitial lung disease & Hyperinflation (top)

Lymphangiomyomatosis
Neurofibromatosis
Sarcoid
Emphysema
X, histiocytosis

 

Balls: Nodules with Air Bronchograms (courtesy G. Pearson) (top)

BAC
Amyloid
Lymphoma
Lipoid pneumonia
Sarcoid

Balls: Chronic Airspace Disease (top)

Bronchoalveolar carcinoma

BOOP

Aspiration

Alveolar proteinosis

Lipoid pneumonia

Loeffler's (chronic eosinophilic pneumonia)

Lymphoma

Pseudolymphoma

Sarcoid (alveolar)

Set Carp: Apical Lung Disease (courtesy of Paul Stark) (top)

Sarcoid

EG, Eosinophilic pneumonia

Tuberculosis

Cystic Fibrosis

Ankylosing spondylitis

Radiation therapy

PCP (cystic)

Pneumoconiosis

Bad Rash: Basilar Lung Disease (courtesy of Paul Stark) (top)

Bronchiectasis, BOOP

Aspiration

Drugs

Rheumatoid

Asbestosis

Scleroderma

Hamman-Rich

YES CT: Germ Cell Tumors (courtesy of Paul Stark) (top)

Yolk Sac Tumors

Embryonal cell carcinoma

Seminoma

Choriocarcinoma

Teratoma

Systemic Pulmonary Artery Shunts (courtesy of Paul Stark) (top)

Good Glenn ( SVC to RPA )

Flow Fontan ( RA to RV )

Really Rastelli ( RV to RPA )

Would Waterston-Cooley ( RPA to AA )

Be Blalock-Taussig ( RPA to subclavian )

Perfect Potts ( LPA to DA )

Contrast Enhancing Mediastinal Mass (top)

Capt/Capt

Castleman

Aneurysm

Paraganglioma

Thryoid

Carcinoid

Aneurysm (so important needs to be mentioned twice)

Parathyroid

Tuberculosis

O Captian! My Captian

O Captain! my Captian! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;

The port is near; the bells I hear; the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring, Walt Whitman

Multiple thin-walled cavities (top)

Pitch

Pneumatocele + bullae

Infections (Tb, cocci)

Tumors (Squamous cell)

Cysts (bronchogenic, trauma)

Hydrocarbon ingestion

Solitary Lung Mass (top)

CASH PLEASE (if you miss it!)

Cancer

Abscess

Solitary met

Hamartoma

Psuedotumor

Lymphoma

Echinococcus

Actinomycosis

Sequestration

Calcifying Metastases (top)

BOTTOM

Breast

Osteogenic carcinoma

Thyroid (papillary)

Ovarian

Mucinous adenocarcinoma

Multiple Pleural Masses (top)

MALLETS

Mesothelioma

Adenocarcinoma

Lymphoma

Leukemia

Empyema

Thymoma

Splenosis

Cavity (top)

Cancer

Autoimmune (Wegeners, RA)

Vascular (septic emboli)

Infectious (Tb, Abscess)

Trauma

Young (bronchogenic cyst, laryngotracheal papillomatosis)