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.

260 results found
Article

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles are type of permanent embolization agent used in interventional radiological procedures. Mechanism of action When injected, PVA particles adhere ot the vessel wall, activating the coagulation cascade and leading to vessel occlusion by provoking thrombus format...
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Charles T Dotter

Charles T Dotter (1920-1985) is often considered the father of interventional radiology who in 1964 performed the very first peripheral angioplasty, and made many other major contributions in this field. Early life Charles Theodore Dotter was born in Boston on 14 June 1920. He graduated with a...
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Central vein

A central vein refers to a major vein close to the center of the circulation, i.e. the heart. It originally referred to those large veins in which the distal tip of a catheter could lie for central venous pressure monitoring. To accurately measure the central venous pressure, which is the pressu...
Article

Branches of the external carotid artery (mnemonic)

Mnemonics for the branches of the external carotid artery abound. A few colorful examples include:  Some American Ladies Found Our Pyramids Most Satisfactory Some Anatomists Like Freaking Out Poor Medical Students She Always Likes Friends Over Papa, Mama, and Sister There are many many many ...
Article

Percutaneous nephrostomy

Percutaneous nephrostomy is a form of nephrostomy in which percutaneous access to the kidney is achieved under radiological guidance. The access is then often maintained with the use of an indwelling catheter. Indications Percutaneous nephrostomy is usually reserved for when retrograde approac...
Article

Post-thrombotic syndrome

Post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) is a syndrome of chronic venous insufficiency following deep vein thrombosis (DVT) due to valvular incompetence, which results in chronic reflux and chronic venous hypertension. Epidemiology PTS is a common complication following extensive DVT of the limbs. Up to...
Article

Ultrasound-guided spinal anesthesia

With the growing incidence of obesity in the western world, ultrasound-guided anesthesia is becoming more common.  Spinal anesthesia is traditionally administered by identifying relevant surface anatomy and imaging is rarely used for pre-procedural identification of structures. Ultrasound-guide...
Article

Transcatheter mitral valve intervention

Transcatheter mitral valve interventions (TMVI) or percutaneous mitral valve interventions are less-invasive, highly technical procedures available for the management of selected patients with mitral valve regurgitation and include several transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) and transcathet...
Article

O-arm

The O-arm is a movable CT  imaging structure developed for intraoperative 3D fluoroscopic imaging. It is utilized during surgery for the identification of bony details in complex procedures such as spinal fixation or microdiscectomy. See also C-arm
Article

Coronary stent thrombosis

Coronary stent thrombosis or scaffold thrombosis refers to an acute thrombus or occlusion in a coronary segment previously treated with a coronary stent or scaffold. It is a severe complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and a major adverse cardiovascular event. Epidemiology C...
Article

Lidocaine

Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine or its tradename Xylocaine, is a very commonly used amino amide local anesthetic in interventional radiology. It also has a wide range of medical applications. In practice, it is found in concentrations of 1%, 2% or as a combination with epinephrine. Medical ...
Article

Liver biopsy (transjugular)

Transjugular liver biopsy (TJLB) is an alternative to a percutaneous liver biopsy in patients with diffuse liver disease, coagulopathy and ascites. It is sometimes done in combination with a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPSS) or venography. Indications massive ascites ...
Article

Transforaminal epidural steroid injection

Transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESI), also known as transforaminal nerve root injections or nerve root blocks, are performed for the treatment and diagnosis of radicular pain. They differ from selective nerve root blocks (SNRB), as the aim is to get an "epidural spill" and get the ...
Article

Fascia iliaca compartment block (ultrasound)

The fascia iliaca compartment block is a nerve block used to provide anesthesia to the lower extremity commonly in the perioperative period. It is most commonly used for analgesia of the hip, thigh, and knee. It involves the deposition of a local anesthetic beneath the fascia iliaca, targeting t...
Article

Simmons catheter

The Simmons catheter, also known as Sidewinder 1, Sim, or SS catheter, is a common reverse-curve angiographic selective access catheter designed for catheterization and subselection of brachiocephalic or visceral arteries, in order to secure access, advance, and exchange devices, or deliver cont...
Article

Uterine artery embolization MRI (an approach)

Uterine artery embolization (UAE) is used as an alternative to hysterectomy in selected patients and MRI assessment is key in allowing not only pre-procedure assessment but also assessing post-procedural outcome. For a general discussion of the underlying condition refer to the article on uteri...
Article

Gastrointestinal stents

Gastrointestinal (GI) stents are increasingly used to treat obstruction of the GI tract, most commonly due to malignancy. Types of stent esophageal stent gastric stent duodenal stent enteric stent colorectal stent History and etymology Somewhat surprisingly the word 'stent' is actually a...
Article

Portal vein embolization

Portal vein embolization (PVE) is a technique used to selectively occlude the blood supply to one of the liver lobes, diverting portal blood flow to the other lobe, the future liver remnant (FLR). This diversion will increase the size of the post-hepatectomy future liver remnant, which improves...
Article

Supraclavicular brachial plexus block (ultrasound)

A supraclavicular brachial plexus block is indicated for establishing sensory and motor blockade of the upper extremity, including the humerus, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand.  Indications necessity to provide analgesia of the upper extremity for: abscess incision and drainage elbow dislocat...
Article

CT cisternography

Computed tomography (CT) cisternography is a minimally-invasive imaging technique used to visualize the intracranial CSF cisterns using iodinated contrast medium injected into the subarachnoid space. Indications detect and localize active CSF leaks through the skull base (CSF rhinorrhea or CSF...

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