Mirror formation

Intrathoracic, abscessing echinococcal cyst with air / liquid level on CT

Mirror formations (medical English "air-fluid level" or "fluid-fluid level") are shown on x-rays, e.g. B. of the abdomen and in cross- sectional imaging such as CT and MRI . They are horizontal interfaces between materials of different densities , where the heavier material sinks with gravity. There are gas-liquid levels and liquid-liquid levels (as in an old bleeding, when the solid components drop).

Mirrors prove the presence of free liquid, e.g. B. in hematomas , bone cysts and melting tumors. Air / secretion levels in the paranasal sinuses indicate sinusitis . Air / fluid levels in the chest are found in hemothorax or serothorax . Abscesses with mirrors have either entered the airways or intestines, or are caused by gas builders . A single mirror in the middle layer ( mediastinum ) is usually located in a part of the stomach that is shifted into the chest, as a gastric hernia or after surgeryGastric elevation . Air-fluid levels in the intestine are caused by delayed intestinal passage of the stool and a higher number of them are a sign of ileus .

swell

• Egon Bücheler, Thomas Göttsche: Introduction to Radiology: Diagnostics and Interventions; 116 tables . Georg Thieme Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-13-316011-7 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Terry R. Yochum, Lindsay J. Rowe: Essentials of skeletal radiology . Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,, p. 964.
2. ^ Eugene Lin, Edward Escott, Kavita Garg: Practical Differential Diagnosis for CT and MRI . Thieme, 2008, ISBN 978-1-58890-655-7 , p. 270.
3. ↑ William E. Brant, Clyde A. Helms: Fundamentals of Diagnostic Radiology . Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, March 20, 2012, ISBN 978-1-60831-911-4 , p. 384.
4. ^ William Herring: Learning Radiology: Recognizing the Basics . Elsevier Health Sciences, April 1, 2011, ISBN 978-0-323-08166-5 , pp. 127-8.