[The significance of the migration of disseminated small round opacities in lung disease--with silicosis serving as a model (author's transl)].

Radiographic follow-up studies of cases of silicosis serve as an example to illustrate the migration of nodular lung disease--in order to demonstrate the fact that silicotic pulmonary nodules with dense profusion tend to coalesce resulting in the formation of large opacities. More widely disseminated nodules with less dense profusion can--on the contrary--result in migration towards the periphery of the lung and thus mimick pleural disease by the formation of subpleural nodules.