medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

, the Golden S sign is a

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

seen on

imaging Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image). Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images. ...

of the chest that suggests a central

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

mass or lung collapse. It was first described by Dr. Ross Golden (1889-1975) in 1925 in association with bronchial carcinoma, but it is also seen in

metastatic cancer Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

enlarged lymph nodes Lymphadenopathy or adenopathy is a disease of the lymph nodes, in which they are abnormal in size or consistency. Lymphadenopathy of an inflammatory type (the most common type) is lymphadenitis, producing swollen or enlarged lymph nodes. In cl ...

, and collapse of the right upper lobe of the lung. Dr. Golden became the first professor of radiology when he joined Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in 1922. It was there that he became the first chairman of the Department of Radiology until his retirement in 1954. He then became the visiting professor of radiology at UCLA Medical, 1954–1975. Dr. Golden is considered a pioneer in the field of Diagnostic Radiology when it was in its infancy, and was the author of many books, journals and periodicals on the subject. He was (twice) president of the Roentgen Ray Society as well as a trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine, and chairman of Radiological Services for the American Medical Association. Among his many honors and accolades, he was honored by President Nehru of India in 1956 for his assistance in improving radiological services throughout that country.

Appearance

The Golden S sign can be seen on plain radiographs as well as on computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest. The sign is seen in the right lung as a distorted minor fissure, whose lateral aspect is concave inferiorly and whose medial aspect is convex inferiorly. This produces a "reverse S" appearance, responsible for the sign being occasionally called the reverse S sign of Golden.

References

{{Radiologic signs Radiologic signs