Background: A number of different types of fluid may accumulate in the pleural space, the most common being transudate, exudate (thin or thick), blood and chyle. All types of pleural effusion are radio graphically identical, though historical, clinical and other radiological features may help limit the diagnostic possibilities. Sometimes, also CT and MRI can help to specify the diagnosis.
Objective: To determine the accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in enabling differentiation of pleural exudates from transudates.
Patients and methods: forty three consecutive patients (43 effusions) underwent contrast-enhanced CT. Thoracocentesis was performed to measure pleural and serum total protein values. Effusions were classified as exudat

ABSTRACT Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis is rare infiltrative pulmonary disease characterized by intra-alveoli deposition of microliths. We present a familial case of an adult female with complaint of progressive shortness of breath on exertion. Chest radiograph showed innumerable tiny dense nodules, diffusely involving both lungs mainly the lower zones. High-resolution CT scan illustrated widespread intra-alveolar microliths, diffuse ground-glass attenuation areas and septal thickening predominantly in the basal regions. Chest radiograph is all that is needed for the diagnosis of this case but CT scan was done to demonstrate the extent and severity of this disease

Kidney tumors are of different types having different characteristics and also remain challenging in the field of biomedicine. It becomes very important to detect the tumor and classify it at the early stage so that appropriate treatment can be planned. The main objective of this research is to use the Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) algorithms to help the early detection of kidney tumors. In this paper, tried to implement an automated segmentation methods of gray level CT images is used to provide information such as anatomical structure and identifying the Region of Interest (ROI) i.e. locate tumor, lesion and other in kidney.
A CT image has inhomogeneity, noise which affects the continuity and accuracy of the images segmentation. In

Background:  Imaging has a critical role in the diagnosis and evaluation of cardiac diseases, beginning with chest radiography and fluoro-scopy and progressing to coronary angio-graphy, echocardiography, nuclear medicine and recently  multidetector computed tomo-graphy (MDCT) as well as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging

Objective: To highlight the role of Multi-detector CT in the evaluation of coronary artery disease and its importance of being noninvasive diagnostic technique.

Methods: A cross sectional study for 20 patients. Patients were asked to fast 6 hours prior to the examination and the patients with heart rates above 65 beats per minute were given cardio-

ABSTRACTBackground: In Iraq smoking is a common habit in both the urban and rural areas. There are many respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis, bronchial carcinoma and emphysema which are related to chronic tobacco smoking.Objectives: To study the effect of tobacco smoking on the respiratory system, to establish a correlation between chronic tobacco smoking and its effects on the parameters which were studied and to create awareness in tobacco smokers about the effects of tobacco on their healthMethod: In this study 100 male subjects, 50 chronic smokers and 50 non- smokers were assessed for their pulmonary function tests by using a computerized spirometer.Results: Almost all their respiratory parameters were significantly reduced.

Background: Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common rheumatological syndrome with multiple systemic manifestations & associated with many diseases. The aim of the study is to assess the
possible association between fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) & chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to correlate this association with patient's age, age group, sex, marital status, duration of the disease, & its severity.
Patients and Methods: Fifty patients with COPD & 50 healthy controls were included in this study. Full history was taken & complete physical examination was done for all patients in both groups. Disease characteristics [age, age group, sex, marital status, duration of the disease, &a

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease which affects nutritional status of the patients. The presence of poor nutritional status in pulmonary tuberculosis patients has been one of the most important determining factor in recommending adjuvant nutrient therapy to prevent oxidative stress and further complication.
Objective: This study was designed to assess the nutritional status and body mass index of pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
Patients and methods: During the period 1st of June 2010 to 30th of May 2011, a prospective study was done on 60 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis and 60 controls.
Levels of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB.), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high dens

Background:  Relapse is defined as recurrent tuberculosis at any time after completion of treatment and apparent cure Recurrence of tuberculosis may occur as a result of relapsed infection due to the same Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain, or due to exogenous reinfection with a new strain.

Objective: To study the factors associated with relapse of pulmonary  tuberculosis.

 Methods:. Across sectional study had been done in the chest and respiratory diseases teaching specialized center in Baghdad during the period from the  1^st  of January 2010 to the 30^th of July 2011. A total of 58 patients with  relapsed pulmonary tuber

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease with episodes of exacerbation. Variable factors including infectious pathogen can predispose for this exacerbation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of intestinal protozoa in COPD exacerbation. A total of 56 patients with COPD were included in this study. Patients were categorized into two groups based on the frequency of exacerbation during the last 6 months: those with ≤1 exacerbation (32 patients) and those with ≥2 exacerbations (24 patients). Stool specimens from each patient were collected two times (one week interval) examined for intestinal parasite. In univariate analysis, rural residence and parasitic infection were more common among patie

Background:

Pulmonary sequestration is a lung tissue (out of function), that received its blood supply from anomalous artery and not continuous with the tracheobronchial tree.

Aim:

To report a personal experience in dealing with five patients with pulmonary sequestration, due to anomalous arterial supply from the descending Thoracic Aorta ,ways of diagnosis and proper surgical management.

Patients and Methods:

Five patients with pulmonary sequestration, admitted, investigated and surgically managed at the department of Thoracic and Vascular surgery, in the surgical sub specialties hospital of the Medical City Teaching Complex d