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.

28 results found
Article

Incidental thyroid nodule

Incidental thyroid nodules, sometimes called thyroid incidentalomas, are discrete lesions in the thyroid gland found on cross-sectional imaging performed for indications other than thyroid evaluation. They are common but occasionally represent thyroid cancer 1. This article discusses the epidemi...
Article

Denver criteria for blunt cerebrovascular injury

The Denver criteria are a set of screening criteria used to determine when CT angiography of the neck is indicated to detect blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) in patients presenting after trauma.  Screening criteria The Denver criteria were initially developed in 1996 1, modified in 2005 to ...
Article

Videofluoroscopic swallow study

Videofluoroscopic swallow studies (also often called modified barium swallow studies) are a variation on traditional barium swallow studies. Although typical barium swallow studies / esophagrams evaluate the pharynx, the goal in these studies is to even more closely evaluate the oral cavity, pha...
Article

ACR Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR TI-RADS)

ACR TI-RADS is a reporting system for thyroid nodules on ultrasound proposed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) 1. This uses a standardized scoring system for reports providing users with recommendations for when to use fine needle aspiration (FNA) or ultrasound follow-up of suspicious ...
Article

NEXUS criteria

NEXUS (National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study) is a set of validated criteria used to decide which trauma patients do not require cervical spine imaging. Trauma patients who do not require cervical spine imaging require all of the following: alert and stable no focal neurologic de...
Article

Localization of parotid lesions

Localization of parotid lesions to the superficial and/or deep parotid gland is an essential aspect of imaging and vital information which needs to be conveyed to the surgeon. Measurement The following lines are proposed for differentiating superficial from deep lobe: Conn's arc (CA): drawn w...
Article

Sonographic features of malignant lymph nodes

Lymphadenopathy is quite common, and it can be challenging to differentiate malignant lymphadenopathy from reactive nodal enlargement. Several gray scale and color Doppler features favor malignancy in a lymph node 1,7-9. Gray scale parameters that favor malignancy size: larger - more likely m...
Article

Assessment of thyroid lesions (ultrasound)

Ultrasound is the first-line imaging modality for assessment of thyroid nodules found on clinical examination or incidentally on another imaging modality. This article is an overview of ultrasonographic features of thyroid nodules, which are used to determine the need for biopsy with fine needle...
Article

Tumors of the base of skull (differential diagnosis)

Tumors of the base of skull are histologically varied and are often challenging to preoperatively diagnose and treat. Exactly which tumors are considered to be tumors of the base of skull is debatable. The broadest definition would include any tumor that involves or abuts the base of skull, thu...
Article

Reactive vs malignant lymph nodes (ultrasound features)

A number of sonographic features are helpful in distinguishing reactive versus malignant lymph nodes. Grey scale features Features that favor reactive/infective nodes over malignancy include: nodal matting surrounding soft tissue edema Doppler features Doppler examination is particu...
Article

Point-of-care ultrasound (curriculum)

The point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) curriculum is one of our curriculum articles and aims to be a collection of articles that represent the core applications of ultrasonography in a point-of-care setting. Point-of-care ultrasound refers to ultrasonography which may be simultaneously performed,...
Article

Listeria monocytogenes meningoencephalitis

Listeria monocytogenes meningoencephalitis is a relatively common cause of bacterial meningoencephalitis and is more common in the elderly and immunocompromised 2. Epidemiology Listeria meningoencephalitis can occur sporadically or in the setting of foodborne epidemics 1. Where meningoencephal...
Article

Ultrasound-guided FNA of the thyroid

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) of the thyroid refers to a minimally invasive procedure where in which tissue samples are collected from a thyroid nodule or other suspicious thyroid lesion. It is usually done on an outpatient basis and generally complications are very minimal. Pr...
Article

CT paranasal sinus (protocol)

The CT paranasal sinus protocol serves as an examination for the assessment of the study of the mucosa and bone system of the sinonasal cavities. It is usually performed as a non-contrast study. NB: This article aims to frame a general concept of a CT protocol for the assessment of the paranasa...
Article

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a type of paranasal sinus surgery performed intranasally using a rigid endoscope. Its primary objective is to restore physiological ventilation and mucociliary transport 1. Paranasal sinus imaging is crucial in preoperative planning and is also incr...
Article

ATA guidelines for assessment of thyroid nodules

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines for assessment of thyroid nodules are meant to improve inter- and intra-reader consistency during assessment of thyroid nodules on ultrasound, and to facilitate communication with referring endocrinologists. The 2015 guidelines stress the import...
Article

Cervical lymph node metastasis (radiologic criteria)

Cervical lymph node metastases refer to regional nodal involvement by cancer in the head and neck, most commonly due to squamous cell carcinoma originating from the aerodigestive tract or skin. Radiologic detection of cervical lymph node metastases is important for clinical staging and planning ...
Article

Epistaxis

Epistaxis (plural: epistaxes) is the medical term for a nosebleed, and is very common in clinical practice with a broad differential diagnosis. Anterior epistaxes mainly bleed from Kiesselbach's plexus and posterior epistaxes (5% of all epistaxis) from Woodruff's plexus. Epidemiology Epistaxis...
Article

Interzygomatic line

The interzygomatic line is a commonly used reference standard for the evaluation of proptosis due to various etiologies on CT/MRI scans. Technique A horizontal line should be drawn between the most anterior parts of the zygomatic bones in the axial plane. The normal distance of the interzygom...
Article

Retrosigmoid craniotomy

Retrosigmoid craniotomy also known as a suboccipital lateral craniotomy refers to the neurosurgical procedure in which lateral section of the occipital bone is removed to gain surgical access to the wide range of neoplastic and vascular pathologies in the cerebellopontine angle.

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