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Pulmonary consolidation
Pneumonia as seen on chest X-ray.A: Normal chest X-ray.B: Abnormal chest X-ray with consolidation from pneumonia in the right lung, middle or inferior lobe (white area, left side of image).
Specialty	Pulmonology

Apulmonary consolidation is a region of normally compressiblelung tissue that has been filled with liquid instead of air.^[1] The condition is marked by induration^[2] (swelling or hardening of normally soft tissue) of a normally aerated lung. It is considered aradiologic sign. Consolidation occurs through accumulation of inflammatory cellular exudate in thealveoli and adjoining ducts. The liquid can bepulmonary edema, inflammatoryexudate,pus, inhaled water, or blood (from bronchial tree orhemorrhage from apulmonary artery). Consolidation must be present to diagnosepneumonia: the signs of lobar pneumonia are characteristic and clinically referred to as consolidation.^[3]

Signs that consolidation may have occurred include:

• Expansion of the thorax on inspiration is reduced on the affected side
• Vocal fremitus is increased on the affected side
• Percussion note is impaired in the affected area
• Breath sounds are bronchial
• Possible medium, late, or pan-inspiratorycrackles
• Vocal resonance is increased. Here, the patient's voice (or whisper, as inwhispered pectoriloquy) can be heard more clearly when there is consolidation, as opposed to the healthy lung where speech sounds muffled.
• Apleural rub may be present.^[4]
• A lower P_AO₂ than calculated in thealveolar gas equation

• Typically, an area of white lung is seen on a standard X-ray.^[5] Consolidated tissue is more radio-opaque than normally aerated lung parenchyma, so that it is clearly demonstrable inradiography and onCT scans. Consolidation is often a middle-to-late stage feature/complication inpulmonary infections.

• Pulmonary infiltrate

• Medical terminology
• Radiologic signs

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