Actinomycosis is an uncommon infection caused by Actinomyces israelii, characterized by clinical and radiological findings that can resemble other inflammatory
and neoplastic lesions. In the lung, the pathogen classically causes a chronic pneumonia,
which may have associated pleuritis, abscesses and fibrosis. It is estimated in the
literature that only 15% of all cases of actinomycosis involve the thorax [
1
,
2
,
3
]. The causative agent, Actinomyces, usually A. israelii, is non acid-fast, Gram-positive, filamentous bacterium belonging to the same family
as Nocardia asteroides. The bacterial species is usually part of the normal flora of the oral cavity.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Clinical ImagingAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Human actinomycosis: a study of 181 subjects.Hum Pathol. 1973; 4: 319-330
- Pulmonary actinomycosis.Br J Radiol. 1974; 47: 373-378
- Actinomycosis: diagnostic and therapeutic considerations and a review of 32 cases.Laryngoscope. 1984; 94: 1198-1217
- Thoracic actinomycosis: CT findings in eight patients.Radiology. 1992; 183: 189-192
- An unusual cause of thoracic mass.Arch Dis Child. 1990; 65: 991-992
- The roentgen manifestations of thoracic actinomycosis.Am J Roentgenol. 1970; 110: 707-716
- Diagnosis of Disease of the Chest. Saunders, Philadelphia1978: 801-804
- Thoracic actinomycosis: CT findings.Radiology. 1998; 209: 229-233
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
May 30,
2000
Received:
December 1,
1999
Identification
Copyright
© 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
