Bulla

Q: 59 years old male is admitted to ICU with exacerbation of emphysema. The chest X-ray by radiology says, "There is a large bulla at the right upper lobe." How is bulla exactly defined?

Answer: Bulla refers to a region of focal lucency of air-filled space that is >1 cm in diameter, bounded by a thin wall of <1 mm. Bullae can be isolated or adjacent and vary in size. They are typically larger at the apices. 

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                          

#pulmonary

                                                                                                          

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1. Goldberg C, Carey KE. Bullous lung disease. West J Emerg Med. 2013 Sep;14(5):450-1. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2013.3.16276. PMID: 24106540; PMCID: PMC3789906.

                                                                                                                              

2. Siddiqui NA, Mansour MK, Nookala V. Bullous Emphysema. [Updated 2023 Jun 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537243/