Left paratracheal stripe
Linea paratrachealis sinistra
Definition
Similarly to the right paratracheal stripe, the left paratracheal stripe is formed by tracheal wall, variable amount of mediastinal fat and paratracheal pleura. Air within the trachea and the aerated left upper lobe outline the intervening soft tissues.
Normal radiographic appearance:
The left paratracheal stripe extends superiorly from the aortic arch to join with the reflection from the left subclavian artery.
Visible on 21%–31% of posteroanterior chest radiographs, the left paratracheal stripe is seen less frequently than the right paratracheal stripe, since it may be obscured by contact between the left lung and either the proximal left common carotid artery anteriorly or the left subclavian artery posteriorly ( (i.e. by the pararterial line).
Abnormal radiographic appearance:
An abnormal contour or widening may be caused by pleural effusions or thickening, paratracheal lymphadenopathy, hematomas or neoplasm.
References
Gibbs JM, Chandrasekhar CA, Ferguson EC, Oldham SA. Lines and stripes: where did they go?--From conventional radiography to CT. Radiographics. 2007 Jan-Feb;27(1):33-48. doi: 10.1148/rg.271065073. PMID: 17234997.
Marano R, Liguori C, Savino G, Merlino B, Natale L, Bonomo L. Cardiac silhouette findings and mediastinal lines and stripes: radiograph and CT scan correlation. Chest. 2011 May;139(5):1186-1196. doi: 10.1378/chest.10-0660. PMID: 21540217.
Cardiac silhouette findings and mediastinal lines and stripes: X-ray and computed tomography correlation R. Marano, G. Savino, C. Liguori, A. Meduri, L. Natale, L. Bonomo; Rome/IT CR-222 poster ECR 2009
Mediastinal lines, stripes and interfaces on PA chest radiograph with CT correlations - N. Bystrická, H. Poláková, J. Sykora; Bratislava/SKC-0442ECR 2013 10.1594/ecr2013/C-04
