Final answer:
The signs Hampton hump, Westermark sign, Melting sign, and Fleischner sign are associated with pulmonary embolism, which is a serious condition caused by the blockage of a pulmonary artery in the lungs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The signs Hampton hump, Westermark sign, Melting sign, and Fleischner sign are all indicative of pulmonary embolism. A pulmonary embolism is a blockage in one of the pulmonary arteries in the lungs, typically caused by blood clots that travel from the legs or other parts of the body to the lungs.
- Hampton hump: It refers to a wedge-shaped opacity in the periphery of the lung field, suggestive of an infarct secondary to embolism.
- Westermark sign: This sign indicates the presence of a regional oligemia or a dilated central pulmonary artery, which is a possible sign of a pulmonary embolism.
- Melting sign: Not commonly used; it may be a reference to the resolution of a pulmonary infarction over time on sequential radiographs.
- Fleischner sign: This is the enlargement of the right descending pulmonary artery seen on chest radiographs and is also associated with pulmonary embolism.
These signs are instrumental in diagnosing a pulmonary embolism, though they are not always present and other diagnostic methods such as CT angiography are often utilized for confirmation.