Unilateral Dark Lung

CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC MANUAL

The term “unilateral dark lung” on a chest X-ray refers to increased transparency or radiolucency in one lung. This appearance can be caused by various pathologies, including the presence of air in the pleural space, lung collapse, or post-surgical changes. Identifying the specific cause is essential for proper patient management, as some of these conditions may require urgent interventions.

Pathology	Clinical Symptoms and Signs	Suspected Diagnosis	Confirmatory Diagnosis
Pneumothorax	Sudden dyspnoea, pleuritic chest pain, tachycardia, decreased breath sounds	History of chest trauma or risk factors	Chest X-ray, chest CT, thoracic ultrasound
Tension pneumothorax	Severe dyspnoea, chest pain, tracheal deviation, signs of shock	History of trauma, severe acute symptoms	Chest X-ray, thoracic ultrasound, urgent clinical evaluation
Bulla	Chronic dyspnoea, cough, decreased breath sounds	History of COPD or chronic smoking	Chest X-ray, chest CT
Mastectomy	Asymptomatic, visible post-surgical changes in the chest	History of mastectomy surgery	Chest X-ray, clinical evaluation
Major pulmonary embolism	Sudden dyspnoea, chest pain, tachycardia, haemoptysis, signs of hypoxaemia	History of thrombotic risk factors, acute symptoms	CT pulmonary angiography, echocardiography, D-dimer test
Lobar lung collapse	Dyspnoea, cough, chest pain, decreased breath sounds in the affected area	History of prior lung disease or risk factors	Chest X-ray, chest CT, bronchoscopy