Imaging of Pulmonary-Cutaneous Disorders: Matching the Radiologic and Dermatologic Findings

Dermatologic lesions are often associated with pulmonary disorders and vice versa. Diseases with pulmonary and cutaneous manifestations can be divided into four major categories: (a) congenital and developmental disorders with cutaneous-pulmonary manifestations (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, generalized elastolysis, yellow nail syndrome, neurofibromatosis, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia); (b) primary dermal diseases with associated pulmonary manifestations (septic vasculitis, malignant melanoma, Kaposi sarcoma); (c) primary pulmonary diseases with associated cutaneous manifestations (tuberculosis, Pseudomonas pneumonia, mycoplasmal pneumonia, adenocarcinoma, metastasis); and (d) cutaneous-pulmonary conditions (multisystem disorders) (progressive systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Wegener granulomatosis, sarcoidosis). A series of selected cases is used to illustrate the radiologic and dermatologic features of conditions that affect both the lung and dermal tissue. Specific emphasis is placed on the dermatologic manifestations of disease. Diagnosis of a pulmonary-cutaneous disorder requires familiarity with the morphologic appearance of the cutaneous lesion.