Original MICA image-reading exercise, unscored. No clinical narrative absent from the source is added.
- Describe visible findings before proposing an interpretation.
- Suggest an interpretation and at least one image limitation.
- Which clinical findings or investigations would complement this observation?
Reveal the explained reading
Crazy paving · CT
- Background
- Ground-glass opacity
- Lines
- Septal and/or intralobular
- Pattern
- Paving-stone appearance
- Value
- Not pathognomonic
Morphological description
Describe distribution, symmetry, lobular boundaries and extent; assess consolidation or effusion.
Causes and diagnostic direction
Alveolar filling and interstitial involvement may coexist; pathological correlation varies with the disease.
Differential diagnoses
Alveolar proteinosis, oedema, pneumocystis pneumonia, haemorrhage and inflammatory pneumonias are part of the differential.
Pitfalls and limitations
This appearance is not specific to alveolar proteinosis and cannot identify an infectious organism.
Take-home message
Identify both components, then use context to distinguish acute and chronic causes.
Sources
- The crazy-paving pattern: a radiological-pathological correlation ↗
- Verma R, Abdoh M. Crazy paving pattern. Clinical Case Reports (2017) ↗
Documentary review: 2026-10-12
Media source & rights
- Author
- Rajanshu Verma and Mamoun Abdoh
- Original source
- Rajanshu Verma and Mamoun Abdoh, Crazy_paving_pattern_on_chest_CT_scan.jpg, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; conversion WebP et réduction proportionnelle.
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Changes
- Conversion WebP, redimensionnement proportionnel sans recadrage ni annotations ajoutées; EXIF retiré. Dérivé écran proportionnel ≤1280 px, WebP qualité76 ; vignette ≤320 px qualité72. Source acquise et dérivé initial conservés sans modification ; aucune retouche médicale, aucun recadrage.
- Dimensions
- 709 × 500 px
- Check
- 2026-10-11T20:53:02.602603+00:00