Lung bases

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 29 Apr 2021

Anatomically, the lung bases refer literally to the inferior concave surfaces of the lungs which directly contact the hemidiaphragms.

However many radiologists, and other clinicians, use the term more generally to refer to the basal region of the lung, which like the lower zones, has no formal definition. It is commonly found in reports of imaging whether plain chest radiographs or CT, for example "patchy consolidation at both lung bases" or "bibasal ground glass opacities noted".

The lung bases are also commonly considered as a review area in the reporting of abdominal CT which usually contains a small portion of the inferior portion of the lungs.

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