[Pneumoconiosis: high-resolution CT characteristics and patho-physiology].

Long-term exposure of the human body to powder-dust environment commonly results in pneumoconiosis, such as silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis and asbestosis. The pathological features of pneumoconiosis include lung's nodules and fibrosis. Plain film and computed tomography (CT) are the main imaging modalities for detecting pneumoconiosis, especially the high-resolution CT (HRCT), multi-detector row CT (MDCT) and related post-processing techniques are helpful in detecting the tiny pathological manifestations of pneumoconiosis so as to make early diagnosis. Furthermore, the functional MDCT could comprehensively assess the pulmonary physiological functions of the patient with pneumoconiosis.