Despite being well visualized by different cross-sectional imaging techniques, the spleen is many times overlooked during the abdominal examination. The major reason is the low frequency of splenic abnormalities, the majority consisting of incidental findings. There has been a steady increase in the number of performed abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies; therefore, it is important to be familiar to the major MRI characteristics of disease processes involving the spleen, in order to interpret the findings correctly, reaching whenever possible the appropriate diagnosis. The spleen may be involved in several pathologic conditions like congenital diseases, trauma, inflammation, vascular disorders and hematologic disorders, benign and malignant tumors, and other disease processes that focally or diffusely affect the spleen. This paper presents a description and representative MRI images for many of these disorders.
Imaging plays an essential part of chest trauma care. By definition, the employed imaging technique in the emergency setting should reach the correct diagnosis as fast as possible. In severe chest blunt trauma, multidetector computer tomography (MDCT) has become part of the initial workup, mainly due to its high sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of the technique for the detection and characterization of thoracic injuries and also due to its wide availability in tertiary care centers. The aim of this paper is to review and illustrate a spectrum of characteristic MDCT findings of blunt traumatic injuries of the chest including the lungs, mediastinum, pleural space, and chest wall.
We present a rare case of pelvic splenosis, and its imaging findings, in a 54-year-old female complaining of pelvic pain and vaginal bleeding for several months. Splenosis is a benign acquired condition defined as heterotopic auto-transplantation of splenic tissue to other compartments of the body and occurs after rupture of the spleen, either traumatic or iatrogenic. Symptoms are unspecific and vary according to the location of the implants; commonly the presenting symptom is abdominal pain or enlarging abdominal mass. Owing to its intrinsic properties and safety, magnetic resonance imaging is a valuable imaging modality, in which the splenosis implants may be securely identified, showing the same signal characteristics and enhancing patterns of the normal spleen, especially visualization of serpiginous enhancement on the arterial phase is virtually diagnostic.
We present a case of a primary cardiac lymphoma in a 60-year-old woman. The clinical presentation was non-specific and the diagnosis was suggested by its appearance on multidetector computed tomography. The final diagnosis was achieved by histopathological study and was corroborated by a decrease in tumor volume after targeted chemotherapy. A brief review of the appearance of primary cardiac lymphomas in imaging studies is presented.
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