Large airway diseases

Various neoplasms and nonneoplastic diseases affect the tracheobronchial tree and cause focal or diffuse airway luminal narrowing or dilatation. For the identification and characterization of various large airway diseases, imaging, particularly computed tomography, plays a key role. Advances in computed tomography technology and postprocessing techniques enable the rapid, noninvasive, comprehensive, and accurate evaluation of the tracheobronchial tree. This article provides a radiologic review of various large airway diseases, including congenital tracheobronchial abnormalities such as infection, inflammation, and infiltrative diseases causing large airway narrowing with wall thickening; tracheal stricture; tracheal neoplasm; bronchiectasis; broncholithiasis; and bronchial anthracofibrosis.