A pulmonary hematoma is a collection of blood within the tissue of the lung. It may result when a pulmonary laceration fills with blood.[1] A lung laceration filled with air is called a pneumatocele.[1] In some cases, both pneumatoceles and hematomas exist in the same injured lung.[2] Pulmonary hematomas take longer to heal than simple pneumatoceles and commonly leave the lungs scarred.[1] A pulmonary contusion is another cause of bleeding within the lung tissue, but these result from microhemorrhages, multiple small bleeds, and the bleeding is not a discrete mass but rather occurs within the lung tissue. An indication of more severe damage to the lung than pulmonary contusion, a hematoma also takes longer to clear.[3] Unlike contusions, hematomas do not usually interfere with gas exchange in the lung, but they do increase the risk of infection and abscess formation.[4]
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Gavelli G, Canini R, Bertaccini P, Battista G, Bnà C, Fattori R (June 2002). "Traumatic injuries: imaging of thoracic injuries". European Radiology. 12 (6): 1273–1294. doi:10.1007/s00330-002-1439-6. PMID12042932. S2CID1919039.
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Livingston DH, Hauser CJ (2003). "Trauma to the chest wall and lung". In Moore EE, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL (eds.). Trauma. Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 525–528. ISBN978-0-07-137069-1.