Computed tomography of the pulmonary parenchyma and chest wall.

Computed tomography has evolved into a unique diagnostic modality that is slowly gaining acceptance for use in the chest. The overall impact of this relatively new technique will be tempered by the inexpensive and universally available conventional diagnostic studies. More refined and sophisticated CT devices will certainly become available in the future. The use of ultrashort scan time will further improve the images obtained in the chest by minimizing the effects of cardiovascular and respiratory motion. The ultimate acceptance of CT will no doubt be hastened by the search for otherwise undetectable pulmonary nodules and an appreciation of its usefulness in the evaluation of lesions of the chest wall.