Articles

Articles are a collaborative effort to provide a single canonical page on all topics relevant to the practice of radiology. As such, articles are written and continuously improved upon by countless contributing members. Our dedicated editors oversee each edit for accuracy and style. Find out more about articles.

358 results found
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Pregnancy associated breast cancer

Pregnancy associated breast cancer (PABC) is usually defined as a breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or one year following delivery. PABC occurs in one out of every 1500-10,000 pregnancies 5-6 and represents up to 3% of all breast malignancies. The incidence may be increasing due to many w...
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Snowstorm sign (extracapsular breast implant rupture)

The snowstorm sign on breast ultrasound imaging represents the presence of free silicone droplets mixed with breast parenchymal tissue causing characteristic homogeneously hyperechoic dense shadowing with dispersion of the ultrasound beam. It is considered the most reliable sign of extracapsular...
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Digital breast tomosynthesis

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is an imaging technique that allows a volumetric reconstruction of the whole breast from a finite number of low-dose two-dimensional projections obtained by different X-ray tube angles, with a geometric principle very similar to that applied in stratigraphic te...
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Radial scar

Radial scar, or complex sclerosing lesion, is a rosette-like proliferative breast lesion. It is not related to surgical scarring. Some authors, however, reserve the latter term to lesions over 1 cm 5.  It is an idiopathic process with sclerosing ductal hyperplasia.  Its significance is that it...
Article

Male breast cancer

Male breast cancer is exceptionally rare and only accounts for less than 0.25% of male malignancies and ~0.5-1% of all breast cancer (both genders). The diagnosis is sometimes delayed due to the patient's hesitancy to seek advice. Workup from a radiological point of view is the same as for women...
Article

Breast neoplasms

Breast neoplasms consist of a wide spectrum of pathologies from benign proliferations, high-risk lesions, precursor lesions, to invasive malignancies.​ This article provides an overview for radiologists, with a focus on breast cancer. For a summary article for medical students and non-radiologi...
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Capsular contracture

Capsular contractures are a potential complication of a breast implant and refer to a tightening and hardening of the capsule that surrounds a breast implant. It is a condition that can distort the shape and cause pain in the augmented breast. It seems to be the most common complication post-bre...
Article

Nevoid hyperkeratosis of the nipple and the areola

Nevoid hyperkeratosis of the nipple and the areola (NHNA) is a rare, idiopathic, and benign dermatological condition of the nipple and areola. Epidemiology Most often seen in females of reproductive age, especially during the 2nd and 3rd decades of life. Less than 70 cases have been reported t...
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Malignant phyllodes tumor

Malignant phyllodes tumor of the breast accounts for up to a quarter of the phyllodes tumors. Please, refer to the main article on phyllodes tumors for a general discussion.  Pathology It is generally thought that it is the stromal component that becomes malignant 4. This may account for thei...
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Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors including palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib are used in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative (HR+/HER2−) advanced breast cancer. Another CDK inhibitor, trilaciclib, has be...
Article

Labeled imaging anatomy cases

This article lists a series of labeled imaging anatomy cases by body region and modality. Brain CT head: non-contrast axial CT head: non-contrast coronal CT head: non-contrast sagittal CT head: non-contrast axial with clinical questions CT head: angiogram axial CT head: angiogram coronal ...
Article

Subareolar abscess

Subareolar breast abscess are relatively uncommon and tend to occur mostly in young women.  Clinical presentation Common clinical features include mastalgia, lump formation in the subareolar region, and nipple discharge. In chronic cases, fistula formation and nipple deformity may be seen. Som...
Article

CT dose index

CT dose index (CTDI) (measured in mGy) is a standardized measure of radiation dose output of a CT scanner which allows the user to compare radiation output of different CT scanners. In the past CTDI100 (measured over a 100 mm long ionization chamber) and CTDIw (weighted average of dose across a ...
Article

Ductal carcinoma in situ

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) refers to a breast carcinoma limited to the ducts with no extension beyond the basement membrane, as a result of which the disease has not infiltrated the parenchyma of the breast and the lymphatics and cannot therefore metastasize. Epidemiology The detection of...
Article

Medical devices in the thorax

Medical devices in the thorax are regularly observed by radiologists when reviewing radiographs and CT scans. Extrathoracic devices tubing, clamps, syringes, scissors, lying on or under the patient rubber sheets, foam mattresses, clothing, hair braids, nipple piercings, etc., may also be visi...
Article

Non-palpable breast lesions

With increasing use of screening mammography and ultrasound for various indications, a large number of non-palpable breast lesions are being detected. Among this large number of non-palpable masses, not all are malignant. The incidence of malignancy among these non-palpable lesions varies betwe...
Article

Diabetic mastopathy

Diabetic mastopathy is a condition characterized by the presence of a benign tumor like breast masses in women with long-standing type 1 or type 2 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The condition has also been reported in men. Clinical presentation Diabetic mastopathy manifests clinically as...
Article

Mean glandular dose

The mean glandular dose (MGD) is an estimate of the average absorbed dose to the glandular tissues of a breast during mammography. It is measured in Gray (Gy). The most commonly accepted method of calculating the mean glandular dose is described by Dance et al (2000):                          ...
Article

Inflammatory carcinoma of the breast

Inflammatory carcinoma of the breast, also referred to as inflammatory breast cancer, is a relatively uncommon but aggressive form of invasive breast carcinoma with a characteristic clinical presentation and unique radiographic appearances.  Epidemiology   Inflammatory carcinomas account for 1...
Article

Usual ductal hyperplasia

Usual ductal hyperplasia, also known as epithelial hyperplasia, is a benign proliferation of normal cells in breast ducts and lobules. Epidemiology The mean age of patients with epithelial hyperplasia is 54 years 1. Clinical presentation Epithelial hyperplasia is usually asymptomatic and fou...

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