honeycomb pattern


hon·ey·comb pat·tern

dense, slightly irregular circular shadows, most common next to the pleura at the lung base, on chest radiographs or CT; caused by chronic interstitial fibrosis of diverse causes.
Cytology Endometrium Honeycomb clusters correspond to benign monolayers of small endometrial cells with uniform, oval nuclei, bland or slightly granular chromatin obtained on a pap smear.
Cytology Pancreas Honeycombing refers to the orderly arrangement of normal flattened pancreatic ductal epithelium, as seen by aspiration cytology. Cf Drunken honeycomb
Cytology Thyroid Honeycombs are seen in aspirates of benign follicular epithelium and correspond to the orderly two-dimensional arrangement of adenomatous thyroid follicles ('macrofollicles'), which range from 50–500µm in diameter
Hepatology Honeycombing refers to a reticular pattern of increased expression of HLA-A, B, C antigens in the liver of patients with HCV infection, which may be more prominent in non-responders to interferon therapy
Imaging-bone A honeycomb pattern is seen in a plain skull film as patchy new bone filling in underlying osteoporosis circumscripta, typical of Paget’s disease of bone. The honeycomb pattern also occurs in circumscribed slow-growing, non-enhancing lytic masses—e.g., haemangiomas, which often have intralesional calcification, many of which have peripheral sclerosis
Imaging-lung Accented interstitial markings In pulmonary imaging, honeycombing refers to coarsened pulmonary parenchyma—clustered, thick-walled cystic spaces representing dilated and thickened bronchial walls; seen in bronchiectasis—seen on a plain chest film and on CT—in which there is partial alveolar wall destruction, incomplete replacement, and alveolar thickening by interstitial fibrosis—in contrast, emphysema demonstrates alveolar wall attenuation, a pattern typical of advanced interstitial pneumonia. The honeycomb pattern seen by imaging appears unchanged at post-mortem or post-pneumonectomy examination of the lung
Diff Dx Adenocarcinoma, asbestosis, berylliosis, chronic allergic alveolitis, chronic granulomatous infections, chronic interstitial pulmonary oedema, collagen vascular disease—SLE, progressive systemic sclerosis, cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis, diffuse alveolar damage—in the organization phase—eosinophilic granuloma, extrinsic allergic alveolitis, haemosiderosis, interstitial fibrosis, interstitial pneumonia—linked to drugs—Langerhans’ cell histiocytosis, lymphangiomatosis, lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia, pneumoconiosis, radiation, recurrent aspiration pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, end-stage sarcoidosis, scleroderma, tuberous sclerosis

honeycomb pattern

A reticulated or net-like pattern with relative periodicity in a 2-D plane Bone radiology An HP is seen in a plain skull film as patchy new bone fills in underlying osteoporosis circumscripta is typical of Paget's disease of bone Pulmonology Accented interstitial markings A term for the coarsened pulmonary parenchyma seen on a plain chest film, in which there is partial alveolar wall destruction, incomplete replacement, and alveolar thickening by interstial fibrosis–in contrast, emphysema demonstrates alveolar wall attenuation, a pattern typical of advanced interstitial pneumonia Diff Dx AdenoCA, asbestosis, berylliosis, chronic allergic alveolitis, chronic granulomatous infections, chronic interstitial pulmonary edema, collagen vascular disease–SLE, progressive systemic sclerosis, diffuse alveolar damage–in the organization phase, eosinophilic granuloma, hemosiderosis, interstitial fibrosis, interstitial pneumonia–linked to drugs, Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, lymphangiomatosis, lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia, pneumoconiosis, radiation, recurrent aspiration pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, end-stage sarcoidosis, scleroderma, tuberous sclerosis. Cf Chicken wire pattern.

hon·ey·comb pat·tern

(hŏn'ē-kōm pat'ĕrn) Dense, slightly irregular circular shadows, most common next to the pleura at the lung base, on chest radiographs or computed tomographs; caused by chronic interstitial fibrosis of diverse causes.