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Right atrial enlargement on chest radiography (illustration)

Case contributed by Vincent Tatco
Diagnosis not applicable

The right atrial shadow (convexity in the lower half of the right mediastinal cardiovascular border) is usually:

  • not more than 50% of the cardiovascular height
  • not more than 5.5 cm from the midline

A markedly enlarged right atrium results to:

  • elongation of the right heart border (length of right atrial convexity exceeds 50% of the mediastinal cardiovascular shadow)
  • lateral bulging of the right heart border (right atrial margin is more than 5.5 cm from the midline)

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