Etiology The term solid pancreatic masses, in its wide meaning, encompasses neoplastic lesions and non-neoplastic masses, ranging from anatomic variants, such as pancreatic head lobulations, to focal inflammatory processes and neoplasms. This chapter will mainly discuss solid pancreatic neoplasms and…
Multidetector Computed Tomography Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has become a fundamental technique of pancreatic imaging. Today, higher image quality can be obtained in abdominal imaging, and this is even more significant in pancreatic imaging, in which the reduction of acquisition…
Technical Aspects Diagnostic imaging of the hepatobiliary system, with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), plays a major role in hepatobiliary surgery, helping to choose the best therapeutic approach, reduce complications, and identify the anatomy requiring special…
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are the two most common and well-characterized primary cholestatic disorders. In contrast to pathologic processes derived primarily from hepatocellular dysfunction, such as viral hepatitis and autoimmune hepatitis, the primary insult in…
The hepatic veno-occlusive diseases are a heterogeneous group of circulatory disorders characterized by obstruction of hepatic venous outflow at the sinusoidal or postsinusoidal levels. These disorders uniquely manifest portal hypertension before overt hepatic parenchymal disease and dysfunction, in contrast to…
Cirrhosis Etiology Virtually any chronic insult to the liver, if sufficiently severe and long-standing, may result in cirrhosis. In the United States, the most common causes are hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and alcohol ingestion, whereas in Asia and sub-Saharan…
The hepatic storage disorders are genetic conditions characterized by the accumulation of toxic substances within either hepatocytes or the hepatic extracellular matrix. This deposition causes secondary tissue damage, which may eventually progress to cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).…
Etiology Hepatic iron overload is a generic term that refers to the nonphysiologic accumulation of iron within the hepatic parenchyma. The most clinically significant cause of hepatic iron overload is hereditary hemochromatosis. Hereditary hemochromatosis is associated with several mutations in…
Etiology Fatty liver is a generic term that refers to the accumulation of lipids within hepatocytes. This chapter focuses on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common form of fatty liver. Histologically, it resembles alcoholic liver injury but occurs…
Etiology Malignant liver tumors can be classified either by cell of origin as hepatocellular, cholangiocellular, or mesenchymal or by site of origin as primary or secondary. This chapter will describe the most frequently encountered malignant hepatic tumors arising in the…