Honeycomb lung

Honeycomb lung

Honeycombing represents destroyed and fibrotic lung tissue containing numerous cystic airspaces with thick fibrous walls, representing the late stage of various lung diseases, with complete loss of acinar architecture. The cysts range in size from a few millimeters to several centimeters in diameter, have variable wall thickness, and are lined by metaplastic bronchiolar epithelium. On chest radiographs, honeycombing appears as closely approximated ring shadows, typically 3-10 mm in diameter with

Pathologically, honeycombing is manifested as small air-containing cystic spaces that are lined by bronchiolar epithelium and have thickened walls of dense fibrous tissue. On high-resolution CT, honeycombing presents with a characteristic cystic appearance. The cystic spaces range from 3 mm to 1 cm in diameter, although they can be larger. The cystic spaces are characterized by well delineated walls 1 to 3 mm in thickness. The cysts are air-filled and appear lucent in comparison to normal lung p