That darn scapula: a common pitfall in interpreting the chest radiograph.

For the inexperienced interpreter of chest radiographs, the normal scapula can mimic some very common and potentially serious abnormalities. Failure to recognize this normal bony structure can lead to needless diagnostic work up and treatment. The potentially mimicked abnormalities fall into 3 major categories: lung parenchymal abnormalities, pleural abnormalities, and bone abnormalities. This report discusses scapula anatomy as it pertains to chest radiographic anatomy, and the reasons for misinterpretations, and shows examples of the scapula mimicking pathologic processes.