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World J Radiol. May 28, 2013; 5(5): 215-219
Published online May 28, 2013. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v5.i5.215
Published online May 28, 2013. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v5.i5.215
Incidental meandering right pulmonary vein, literature review and proposed nomenclature revision
Mark Alexander Rodrigues, Gillian Ritchie, John Tallach Murchison, Department of Radiology, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland EH16 4SA, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Ritchie G reported the chest X-ray; Murchison JT reported the computed tomography; Rodrigues MA performed the case research; Rodrigues MA, Ritchie G and Murchison JT contributed to the literature research, manuscript preparation and editing; Rodrigues MA and Murchison JT contributed to the image preparation.
Correspondence to: Dr. Mark Alexander Rodrigues, Radiology Registrar, Department of Radiology, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA, United Kingdom. mark.a.rodrigues@gmail.com
Telephone: +44-131-5361000 Fax: +44-131-5361000
Received: January 30, 2013
Revised: March 29, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: May 28, 2013
Processing time: 128 Days and 5.8 Hours
Revised: March 29, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: May 28, 2013
Processing time: 128 Days and 5.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: This case highlights the chest X-ray features of scimitar syndrome are not diagnostic and a meandering right pulmonary vein (MRPV) should be considered in the differential diagnosis. The nomenclature used in the literature to describe these pulmonary vascular anomalies is inconsistent. We therefore propose a revision to the nomenclature to avoid confusion. Differentiation between pulmonary vascular anomalies is required to help decide whether treatment is necessary. Modern multislice computed tomography technology allows clear depiction of the vascular connections and associated anatomy, and has superseded invasive pulmonary angiography and cardiac catheterization as the investigation of choice for MRPV.