Honeycombing (lungs)
Updates to Article Attributes
Honeycombing is a CT imaging descriptor referring to clustered cystic air spaces (between 3-10 mm in diameter but occasionally as large as 2.5 cm) which are usually subpleural and basal in distribution. They can be subdivided into:
The walls of the cysts are well-defined and often thick (1-3 mm) 4. They represent an irreversible finding commonly seen in diffuse pulmonary fibrosis (usual interstitial pneumonia).
Pathology
Honeycombing consists of enlarged airspaces with thick fibrotic walls lined by bronchiolar epithelium and often filled with mucin and inflammatory cells 6.
History and etymology
The term “honeycomb lung” is thought to have originated in the 19th century in Germany and is thought to have first appeared in 1949 in a study by N Oswald and T Parkinson 5.
Differential diagnosis
- airspace consolidation in the presence of pulmonary emphysema can mimic this appearance
- in some situations, paraseptal emphysema and paracicatrical emphysema can also mimic honeycombing 3
-<li>-<a href="/articles/microcystic-honeycombing">microcystic honeycombing</a>:</li>- +<li><a href="/articles/microcystic-honeycombing">microcystic honeycombing</a></li>
References changed:
- 5. Johkoh T, Sakai F, Noma S et al. Honeycombing on CT; Its Definition, Pathologic Correlation, and Future Direction of Its Diagnosis. Eur J Radiol. 2014;83(1):27-31. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2013.05.012">doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2013.05.012</a> - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23806532">Pubmed</a>
- 5. Johkoh T, Sakai F, Noma S et-al. Honeycombing on CT; its definition, pathologic correlation, and future direction of its diagnosis. Eur J Radiol. 2013; . <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2013.05.012">doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2013.05.012</a> - <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23806532">Pubmed citation</a><span class="auto"></span>
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