The interpretation of scintigraphic patterns and the role of pathophysiological mechanisms in patients with primary lung cancer were investigated. To determine the relative roles of perfusion, inhalation and ventilation scintigraphy, the relationship between the count ratio of the affected side to the healthy side and the post-surgical histological lymph nodes factors were observed in this study. These scintigraphic count ratio's in patients with primary lung cancer did not reflect the pN factors except in the perfusion study in patients with hilar primary lung cancer.