Seminars in ultrasound, CT, and MR
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Pulmonary emphysema is a pathological diagnosis. The clinical diagnosis of emphysema can be difficult because correlations between results of lung function tests and the extent of emphysema are poor. ⋯ Despite not detecting mild emphysema and underestimating the severity of disease, CT--and high-resolution CT in particular--is the best noninvasive modality for detecting or corroborating pulmonary emphysema. This review focuses on several important aspects of pulmonary emphysema: (1) the definition and pathological characterization, (2) techniques of CT imaging, (3) CT findings and their correlation with pathophysiological data, and (4) quantification with CT.