What is alveolar Microlithiasis?
Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis is a disorder in which many tiny fragments (microliths) of a compound called calcium phosphate gradually accumulate in the small air sacs (alveoli) located throughout the lungs.
What is Dendriform pulmonary ossification?
OBJECTIVE. Dendriform pulmonary ossification (DPO) is a rare lung disease in which mature bone is present in the peripheral interstitium of the lung. It typically occurs in patients with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP).
What can cause calcium in the lungs?
Common causes The formation of calcified granulomas in the lungs is often due to infections. These can be from a bacterial infection, such as tuberculosis (TB). Calcified granulomas can also form from fungal infections such as histoplasmosis or aspergillosis.
What causes pulmonary ossification?
Pulmonary ossification is an unusual condition of unknown etiology and has been recognized in the following 2 forms: granular (nodular) and dendriform. The nodular type of ossification has been linked to passive congestion due to chronic heart failure, mitral stenosis, and hypertrophic subaortic stenosis.
Is calcification in lungs serious?
Since calcified granulomas are almost always benign, they typically don’t require treatment. However, if you have an active infection or condition that’s causing granuloma formation, your doctor will work to treat that.
Can pneumonia cause lung calcification?
The differential diagnosis for metastatic pulmonary calcification includes pneumonia, sarcoidosis, silicosis, talcosis, amyloidosis, and idiopathic pulmonary ossification.
Can you have stones in your lungs?
Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis (PAM) is a rare, inherited disorder of lung phosphate balance that is associated with small stone formation in the airspaces of the lung.
What does it mean to have calcification in your lungs?
Metastatic and dystrophic calcification, defined as deposition of calcium salts in normal and abnormal tissues, respectively, can manifest in the lungs. Pulmonary ossification refers to bone tissue formation (calcification in a collagen matrix), with or without marrow elements, in the lung parenchyma.
What is pulmonary calcification?
Pulmonary calcification is a common asymptomatic finding, usually discovered on routine chest X-ray or at autopsy. Pulmonary calcifications are caused mainly by two mechanisms: the dystrophic form and the metastatic form (1).