Pulmonary opacity Parenchymal consolidation 2019-01-06T11:25:27Z In radiographs and CT scans, consolidation appears as a homogeneous increase in pulmonary parenchymal attenuation that obscures the margins of vessels and airway walls (See Figure 19 of PMID:18195376). An air bronchogram may be present. The attenuation characteristics of consolidated lung are only rarely helpful in differential diagnosis (eg, decreased attenuation in lipoid pneumonia and increased in amiodarone toxicity). Consolidation refers to an exudate or other product of disease that replaces alveolar air, rendering the lung solid (as in infective pneumonia).