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Radiological appearance of aortic dissection

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The characteristic radiological features of a dissection of the thoracic aorta include:

  • mediastinal widening
  • deviation of the trachea or oesophagus (or nasogastric tube) to the right
  • deviation of the right main bronchus upwards and to the right or depression of the left main bronchus
  • loss of definition of the aortic knuckle
  • loss of the space between the aorta and pulmonary artery
  • presence of a pleural cap
  • first and second rib fractures

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