"in the under 55s, commoner in females"
"epidemiology"
"presentation"
"pathophysiology"
"investigation"
"treatment"
Expected headings
"This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists"
"X-ray"
"CT"
"Ventilation/perfusion scan"
"Pulmonary angiography"
"This is a summary article; read more in our article on pulmonary embolism."
"pleuritic chest pain, cough, orthopnoea and haemoptysis"
"obstruction of the arteries can be caused by tumour, fat or air"
"other risk factors include immobilisation, recent surgery, malignancy, paralysis, smoking and obesity"
"alternative treatment includes thrombolysis, embolectomy and inferior vena cava filters"
"Chest radiographs are often performed to look for alternative causes for symptoms. They are usually either normal or show nonspecific findings which include pleural effusion, cardiomegaly and atelectasis. More specific findings are rare but include Hampton hump (shallow wedge-shaped opacity in lung periphery) and Westermark sign (sharp pulmonary vessel with distal hypoperfusion)."
"V/Q scans are performed where CT pulmonary angiography is contraindicated such as in severe renal failure, pregnancy or contrast allergy. Pulmonary embolism is shown where areas of the lung are ventilated but not perfused."