Pulmonary "coin" lesion of unusual pathology.

Abstract

The diagnostic problem of single discrete lesions of the lung is well recognized (1, 3, 5,7). The subject has recently been comprehensively dealt with in Bronchopulmonary Diseases edited by Naclerio (8). There is general agreement as to the difficulty of determining the pathology of these lesions when revealed by x-ray. Their management, too , presents a problem because of the high rate of malignancy. The purpose of this short paper is to record a case of a “coin” lesion of the lung with an unusual pathological basis. As far as could be ascertained, no similar case has been recorded in the literature. At the Pneumoconiosis Medical and Research Bureau of Northern Rhodesia approximately 40,000 European and African mining recruits and miners are examined clinically and radiologically each year. Discrete single lesions of the lung are periodically observed. Hitherto all have fallen into one or other of the categories usually encountered. The case described below, however, is unique. The single coin lesion i...