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.
1,465 results found
Article
Inguinal region mass (differential)
The differential diagnosis of an inguinal region mass includes (in no particular order) 1-4:
inguinal hernia
femoral hernia
hydrocele of the canal of Nuck
spermatic cord hydrocele
lymphadenopathy or necrotic lymph node
undescended testis
aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery
i...
Article
Pseudosacculation
Pseudosacculations (also known as pseudodiverticula) are outpouchings of normal bowel wall along the antimesenteric border. Inflammation and fibrosis along the mesenteric border of the bowel loop causes asymmetric shortening of the mesenteric wall, and subsequent pseudosacculations of the normal...
Article
Glasgow-Blatchford score
The Glasgow-Blatchford score (GBS) is a widely-used and well-validated scoring system for upper GI bleeding and the need for intervention.
Score
The scoring system relies upon knowing the patient's urea, hemoglobin, systolic blood pressure, and several other criteria. Each criterion is scored,...
Article
Esophageal web
Esophageal webs refer to an esophageal constriction caused by a thin mucosal membrane projecting into the lumen.
Epidemiology
Esophageal webs tend to affect middle-aged females.
Clinical presentation
Patients are usually asymptomatic and the finding may be incidental and unimportant. However...
Article
Esophageal carcinoma
Esophageal carcinoma is globally the 7th most common cancer and 6th most common cause of cancer-related death as per NCCN version 3.2023. It tends to present with increasing dysphagia, initially to solids and progressing to liquids as the tumor increases in size, obstructing the lumen of the eso...
Article
Cricopharyngeal bar
Cricopharyngeal bar refers to the radiographic appearance of a prominent cricopharyngeus muscle contour on barium swallow.
Terminology
The terms cricopharyngeal bar and cricopharyngeal muscle spasm/achalasia are often used synonymously but this is incorrect because studies have demonstrated th...
Article
Pancreatic duct stone
A pancreatic duct stone, also known as calculus, is a stone embedded within the pancreatic ducts. They typically arise in the setting of chronic pancreatitis.
Terminology
Three terms other than pancreatic stones or calculi have been used to refer to calculi in the pancreatic ducts; primarily t...
Article
Aortoenteric fistula
Aortoenteric fistulas are pathologic communications between the aorta (or aortoiliac tree) and the gastrointestinal tract and represent an uncommon cause of catastrophic gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
Aortic fistulas may be considered primary (associated with a complicated abdominal aortic aneury...
Article
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a low-grade destructive metastasizing PEComatous tumor 1 resulting from the proliferation of LAM cells in the lung, kidney and axial lymphatics. The disease is caused by mutations of the TSC2 or TSC1 genes and is more commonly sporadic rather than inherited. Cys...
Article
Glucagon
Glucagon is a polypeptide hormone central to the regulation of glucose homeostasis, acting as an antagonist to insulin. In imaging, it is used as an antiperistaltic agent in GI studies, although its clinical efficacy is controversial.
Structure
Glucagon is a 29-amino acid polypeptide hormone ...
Article
Transthyretin amyloidosis
Transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis is a form of systemic amyloidosis characterized by the misfolding, aggregation and deposition of transthyretin-related (TTR) protein in various organs 1-6. This can occur in the following two forms namely in the setting of a genetically normal transthyretin-relat...
Article
Candida esophagitis
Candida esophagitis is the most common cause of infectious esophagitis that commonly affects immunocompromised patients. On imaging, it is characterized by irregular plaque-like lesions separated by normal mucosa and small (<1 cm) ulcers, which are assessed on esophagogram studies.
Epidemiolo...
Article
Lipoma
Lipomas are benign tumors composed of mature adipocytes. They are the most common soft tissue tumor, seen in ~2% of the population.
Epidemiology
Patients typically present in adulthood (5th-7th decades).
Associations
In some cases, multiple lipomas are associated with syndromes and other di...
Article
Intraperitoneal focal fat infarction
Intraperitoneal focal fat infarction (IFFI) refers to a group of self-limiting abdominal diseases where the primary insult is acute inflammation of intraperitoneal fat. They commonly mimic the more common causes of acute abdomen such as acute diverticulitis and acute appendicitis. The group incl...
Article
Perigastric appendagitis
Perigastric appendagitis is a rare inflammatory/ischemic process involving the perigastric ligaments (gastrohepatic, gastrosplenic and falciform ligaments).
Along with epiploic appendagitis and omental infarction, perigastric appendagitis falls under the umbrella of intraperitoneal focal fat in...
Article
Gastric lymph node stations
The gastric lymph node stations were originally divided into 16 groups, as proposed by the Japanese Research Society for Gastric Cancer in 1973.
Gross anatomy
There are three major groups of lymph drainage from the stomach, namely, left gastric, gastroepiploic, and pyloric nodes 4, as shown in...
Article
Hiatal surface area
The hiatal surface area (HSA) is a measurement that has been proposed to define the size of the hiatal defect in the preoperative assessment of a hiatus hernia. It allows to determine the two-dimensional expanse of the hiatal orifice and then adapts the crural closure to the exact dimension of t...
Article
Fecal calprotectin
Fecal calprotectin (FCAL) is a protein marker of gut inflammation. It is used as a diagnostic tool and marker of disease activity for Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis.
Biochemistry
Calprotectin is a protein complex from the S-100 family, which is formed of three polypeptide chains, two hea...
Article
Transient intussusception
Transient or uncomplicated intussusception is known to occur in adults and children and can be considered physiological. Given the condition's transient nature, it is probably underdiagnosed. The main factors distinguishing transient from intussusceptions requiring surgical intervention are abse...
Article
Stoma
A stoma (plural stomata) is defined as an artificially created connection between two hollow organs or a hollow organ and the skin. A surgical procedure that involves the creation of a stoma carries the suffix "-ostomy".
For a discussion of imaging features and potential complications, please r...
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