prominent pulmonary artery

Last reviewed 01/2018

This is seen as an enlarged second convex shadow on the left-hand side of the PA chest X-ray (first concave shadow is the aortic knuckle, second is the pulmonary artery, third is the left atrial appendage, and fourth is the left ventricle).

Causes include:

  • pulmonary artery hypertension - the various causes are to be found in the section of the system on pulmonary arterial hypertension.
  • spurious causes:
    • rotated film
    • pulmonary artery displaced by a large aortic root
    • pulmonary artery displaced by a mediastinal mass
    • a chest X-ray of a corrected transposition