Hampton's hump on chest radiograph represents what?

Hampton's hump on chest radiograph represents what?

• A. Diffuse interstitial edema
• B. Wedge-shaped peripheral opacity due to pulmonary infarct
• C. Pleural effusion
• D. Atelectasis of the lower lobe

Answer: (B)

Hampton's hump represents a peripheral pulmonary infarct from a pulmonary embolism. The finding is a wedge-shaped opacity at the lung periphery, with the base against the pleura and the apex toward the hilum, reflecting ischemia and hemorrhagic infarction in a distal pulmonary artery branch. This is why the best description is a wedge-shaped peripheral opacity due to pulmonary infarct. The other patterns—diffuse interstitial edema (diffuse, perihilar markings), pleural effusion (meniscus with fluid layering), or atelectasis of the lower lobe (basilar, volume-loss opacity)—don’t match the characteristic pleural-based wedge seen with infarction.

Hampton's hump represents a peripheral pulmonary infarct from a pulmonary embolism. The finding is a wedge-shaped opacity at the lung periphery, with the base against the pleura and the apex toward the hilum, reflecting ischemia and hemorrhagic infarction in a distal pulmonary artery branch. This is why the best description is a wedge-shaped peripheral opacity due to pulmonary infarct. The other patterns—diffuse interstitial edema (diffuse, perihilar markings), pleural effusion (meniscus with fluid layering), or atelectasis of the lower lobe (basilar, volume-loss opacity)—don’t match the characteristic pleural-based wedge seen with infarction.