Pulmonary varix mimicking arteriovenous malformation

Abstract We report here a case of a 44-year-old female with a pulmonary varix. The patient was asymptomatic; a routine chest X-ray incidentally revealed a serpiginous mass in the left hilar region. Computed tomography revealed a serpiginous, dilated vascular structure in the left upper lobe that continued into the lower lobe and was suggestive of an arteriovenous malformation. Pulmonary angiography revealed no arterial abnormality; however, the filling of an abnormally dilated pulmonary vein was observed. Angiography is considered to be the most useful method for the confirmatory diagnosis of pulmonary varices.