Though congenital anomalies of the pancreas and pancreatic duct are relatively uncommon and they are often discovered as an incidental finding in asymptomatic patients, some of these anomalies may lead to various clinical symptoms such as recurrent abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Recognition of these anomalies is important because these anomalies may be a surgically correctable cause of recurrent pancreatitis or the cause of gastric outlet obstruction. An awareness of these anomalies may help in surgical planning and prevent inadvertent ductal injury. The purpose of this article is to review normal pancreatic embryology, the appearance of ductal anatomic variants and developmental anomalies of the pancreas, with emphasis on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticography and multidetector computed tomography.

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Abdominal confluence of lymphatics seems to be present on most of the heavily T2-weighted images. Its morphologic details and extensions can be visualized on images reconstructed with a maximum-intensity-projection algorithm. Any disorder does not necessarily lead to dilatation of these lymphatic structures.

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory disease of the pancreas that may also involve surrounding tissues or remote organs. The Atlanta classification of acute pancreatitis was introduced in 1992 and divides patients into mild and severe groups based on clinical and biochemical criteria. Recently, the terminology and classification scheme proposed at the initial Atlanta Symposium have been reviewed and a new consensus statement has been proposed by the Acute Pancreatitis Classification Working Group. Generally, imaging is recommended to confirm the clinical diagnosis, investigate the etiology, and grade the extend and severity of the acute pancreatitis. Ultrasound is the first-line imaging modality in most centers for the confirmation of the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis and the ruling out of other causes of acute abdomen, but it has limitations in the acute clinical setting. Computed tomography not only establishes the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, but also enables to stage severity of the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging has earned an ever more important role in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. It is especially useful for imaging of patients with iodine allergies, characterizing collections and assessment of an abnormal or disconnected pancreatic duct. The purpose of this review article is to present an overview of the acute pancreatitis, clarify confusing terminology, underline the role of ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging according to the proper clinical context and compare the advantages and limitations of each modality.

Symptoms of chronic mesenteric ischemia develop when the celiac artery is constricted by the median arcuate ligament of the diaphragm. Lateral aortography is the primary modality for diagnosing ligamentous compression of the celiac artery. However, duplex Doppler sonography performed during deep expiration can cause a marked increase in flow velocities at the compressed region of the celiac artery and suggest the diagnosis of celiac arterial constriction due to the diaphragmatic ligament.

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If one of the following MRCP findings of apparent connection between hydatid cyst and biliary system, deformation of cyst, focal defect in cyst wall, or beaklike projection extending from cyst wall was present in a patient with hepatic hydatid cyst, the sensitivity of MRCP was 91.7% and the specificity was 82.8% for identification of intrabiliary rupture.