bronchial atresia
description
bronchial development occurs between weeks 4 to 15 of fetal life. the trachea arises as a diverticulum of the foregut at the 4th week of gestation. the insult of bronchial atresia is possibly vascular in nature and may cause obliteration of the segmental, lobar or main stem bronchus.
diagnosis
sonographic evidence of a hyperechoic, enlarged unilateral segment of the lung.
differential diagnosis
cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung is indistinguishable from bronchial atresia because the echogenic lung with anechoicsareas is common in both. other possible conditions include diaphragmatic hernias, bronchopulmonary foregut malformations and lobar emphysema.
sonographic features
unilateral, hyperechoic mass with possibly small anechoic areas within it mediastinal shift may be associated with the mass decreasing echogenicity of the affected lung occurs with increasing gestation.
associated syndromes