EXTRAPLEURAL FAT COLLECTIONS - PSEUDOTUMORS AND OTHER CONFUSING MANIFESTATIONS

Because thoracic fat is mobile and plastic, it can assume a variety of shapes and distributions. Fat collections can be confusing, and some can even mimic tumors. This essay highlights the variable and potentia lly confusing manifestations of normal thoracic fat on plain radiograp hs and CT scans. It does not emphasize fatty tumors, ordinary mediasti nal lipomatosis, costal fat pads, or diaphragmatic hernias, as these t opics have been reviewed recently [1].