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Left upper lobe lung mass? Where would you place hyphens here? Help appreciated!
Don’t mean to get in the middle of your discussion, but just another point of view.
I have always typed it without hyphens because that is what they preferred where I work.
If you go by AHDI Book of Style 3, there would be no hyphens:
Some compound modifiers are commonly used together, or are so clear, that they are automatically read as a unit and do not need to be joined with a hyphen.
EXAMPLE:
dark brown lesion
deep tendon reflexes
jugular venous distention
left lower quadrant
low back pain
Do not use hyphens with most disease-entity modifiers even when they precede the noun. Check appropriate medical references for guidance.
EXAMPLE:
cervical disk disease
oat cell carcinoma
pelvic inflammatory disease
sickle cell disease
urinary tract infection