Laminar Effusions

A laminar effusion is a form of pleural effusion in which the

fluid assumes a thin, bandlike density along the lateral
chest wall, especially near the costophrenic angle. The
lateral costophrenic angle tends to maintain its acute angle
with a laminar effusion, unlike the blunting that occurs with
a usual pleural effusion.
Laminar effusions are almost always the result of elevated
left atrial pressure, as in congestive heart failure or secondary
to lymphangitic spread of malignancy. They are
usually not free-flowing.
They can be recognized by the band of increased density that
separates the air-filled lung from the inside margin of the
ribs at the lung base on the frontal chest radiograph. In
healthy persons, an aerated lung should extend to the inside
of each contiguous rib (Fig. 8-15).