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A 60-year-old man, employed as a welder for 25 years, was admitted with an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. An ill-defined and solitary mass shadow 3 cm in diameter was subsequently detected in the left upper lung field. The mass shadow exhibited high attenuation on chest CT scan. Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) revealed an organized lesion possessing a large quantity of iron. Although pneumoconiosis was suspected, the possibility of lung cancer could not be dismissed. Pneumoconiosis (welder's lung) was diagnosed after thoracotomy and examination of the resected mass. Pneumoconiosis (welder's lung) rarely presents as a solitary mass lesion.

In December 1989, a 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with atelectasis in the left lower lobe. The atelectasis resolved after bronchoscopic removal of impacted mucous plugs. Histopathological examination showed pulmonary mycosis. Microscopy suggested that a species of Aspergillus was responsible, but no definite diagnosis was made. After treatment with flucytosine and nebulized amphotericin, the patient's condition improved and she was discharged. In the middle of August 1994, she visited a local hospital complaining of fatigue. Eosinophilia (22%) was detected, and a few days later she visited that hospital again due to sudden dyspnea. A chest X-ray examination showed an abnormal shadow, and she was referred to our hospital. Atelectasis was seen in the left upper lobe. This finding, together with eosinophilia, suggested recurrence of pulmonary mycosis, and therefore bronchoscopy was performed. White mucous plugs obstructing the left upper lobe were observed and were bronchoscopically removed. Microscopical examination of the mucous plugs showed marked eosinophil infiltration and hyphae. Cultures of specimens obtained during bronchoscopy showed Schizophyllum commune, and allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis due to this microorganism was diagnosed. Identification of this microorganism as a cause of deep-seated pulmonary mycosis is very rare.

A 67-year-old woman with bloody stool was admitted to our hospital. Chest radiograph on admission showed a tumor shadow in the right lower lung field. Lung adenocarcinoma of right S6 and villous adenoma of the rectum were detected. Although she was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she died of respiratory failure. At autopsy, moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the right lung, renal cell carcinoma, and villous adenoma of the rectum were confirmed. Lung adenocarcinomas were detected in the focus of the renal cell carcinoma and in the villous adenoma. Metastasis of a cancer into another coexisting tumor in the same individual is extremely rare, and a satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon has not yet been offered.

A 45-year-old male was admitted with chief complaint of hemoptysis. Prior to admission, a tumor in the S3 segment of the right lung had been detected by chest radiography. Despite a detailed examination after admission, no definite diagnosis was made, and right upper lobectomy was performed. Histopathological examination of the surgically resected tissue led to the diagnosis of pulmonary actinomycosis. In Japan, 52 cases of this condition were reported between 1964 and 1991. This paper discusses the epidemiology, diagnosis and diagnostic imaging of the condition, with reference to the literature.

The patient was a female who came to our hospital with a chief complaint of hemoptysis. Radiography of the chest demonstrated a funicular shadow, and CT of the chest also revealed a similar shadow in contact with the thoracic aorta enhanced by the contrast material. Pulmonary arteriography and aortography showed that the left S8, S9 and S10 areas were supplied by abnormal blood vessels bifurcating from the thoracic aorta, rather than the pulmonary artery. This finding was supported by scintigraphy of the pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary RI angiography. Since bronchography revealed no obvious abnormality in the bronchial system, the diagnosis of Pryce's type I intralobar pulmonary sequestration was established, and left lower lobectomy was carried out. While the evidence of abnormal blood vessels is important for the definitive diagnosis of pulmonary sequestration, concurrent image processing of the results of scintigraphy of the pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary RI angiography permits noninvasive demonstration of the fact that the sequestral pulmonary tissue is regulated by the systemic circulatory system, rather than the pulmonary circulatory system and thus is a useful technique.