Chest Diagnostic Imaging 2026 is built for radiology residents who need to move from the first visible thoracic pattern to the correct compartment, differential diagnosis, and next imaging decision. It grounds chest interpretation in anatomy, radiographic technique, CT/HRCT protocol selection, vascular logic, mediastinal compartment analysis, pleural mapping, and postoperative or therapy-related time course. Featuring the Thoracic Pattern-to-Modality System, the book connects imaging appearances to reporting language that supports urgent triage, diagnostic narrowing, and clinically useful recommendations.
• Build a systematic chest imaging approach - use radiography, CT, HRCT, CTA, MRI, PET/CT, and ultrasound according to the question each modality answers.
• Decode airway and obstructive patterns - separate bronchiectasis, emphysema, small-airways disease, tracheobronchial collapse, and mosaic attenuation by mechanism.
• Narrow infection patterns - distinguish bacterial, viral, atypical, mycobacterial, fungal, and opportunistic disease in routine and immunocompromised patients.
• Read diffuse lung disease on HRCT - classify UIP, NSIP, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, sarcoidosis, pneumoconioses, cystic disease, nodular disease, and hemorrhagic patterns.
• Stage and characterize thoracic malignancy - evaluate pulmonary nodules, lung carcinoma, metastases, carcinoid, lymphoma, pleural malignancy, and treatment response.
• Prioritize emergency and ICU findings - report trauma, vascular injury, pneumothorax, hemothorax, device malposition, lines, tubes, drains, LVAD, ECMO, and postoperative complications.
• Separate expected therapy change from recurrence - interpret post-resection anatomy, transplant complications, radiation injury, immune checkpoint pneumonitis, drug toxicity, EVALI, and pleurodesis pitfalls.
• Use the Thoracic Pattern-to-Modality Atlas - turn common chest patterns into focused differentials, modality pivots, and trap-aware reporting.
Use this reference to make chest imaging reports more precise, more actionable, and better aligned with the decisions thoracic patients require.
