The blood supplies of nodular lesions associated with liver cirrhosis were analyzed in vivo with various imaging modalities. The portal blood supply was evaluated with computed tomography (CT) during arterial portography (CTAP); the arterial blood supply was evaluated with hepatic angiography, CT angiography, CT following intraarterial injection of iodized oil, or ultrasound following intraarterial injection of carbon dioxide microbubbles. A total of 84 surgically confirmed hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) (less than or equal to 3 cm) and 25 areas of adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) were included in the study. At CTAP, a portal blood supply was seen in 96% of cases of AH and only 6% of HCCs (chi 2, P less than .005). In contrast, an arterial supply greater than that of the surrounding liver was verified in 94% of the HCCs and only 4% of the cases of AH (chi 2, P less than .005). The blood supply of areas of AH with atypical hepatocytes and the blood supply of well-differentiated HCCs (Edmondson grade 1) tended to be intermediate between that of AH without atypia and that of HCC that was Edmondson and Steiner grade 2 or greater. Evaluation of the blood supply of the nodular lesions associated with liver cirrhosis is considered to be useful in the differential diagnosis and treatment of early-stage HCC.

Although MR imaging was useful in demonstrating the extent of buccal space lesions, its diagnostic value in predicting malignancy was very limited. It was especially true for malignant tumors of minor salivary gland origin, which were typically seen as well-defined masses without infiltration into surrounding structures on MRI.

PR is accurate for assessing the dimensions of radiolucent lesions in the posterior mandible when the margins are well defined.

CT was useful in demonstrating the presence and location of the masses in the buccal space and sometimes in the differential diagnosis. For a mass of uncertain cause in the buccal space, a buccal gland tumor is the most likely diagnosis. The value of CT in differentiating malignant from benign buccal space lesions is limited.

The pattern of PR on CT in combination with the pattern of the cortical destruction of the cortex is useful in differentiating osteomyelitis from malignant tumors.