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Imaging Modalities

  • Chapter
Benign Tumors of the Liver

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Abstract

Benign focal liver lesions, including cysts, hemangiomas, and focal nodular hyperplasia, are common. Annually, many patients worldwide undergo imaging for the work-up of a suspected or known abnormality of the liver. Cross-sectional imaging modalities, such as US, CT, and MR imaging, are used in most centers to assess liver abnormalities. These modalities, often used in various combinations, have fundamental differences in data acquisition and hence differences in the type of physical characteristics of tissues they interrogate. Currently, there is no consensus concerning the optimal strategy for liver imaging. Imaging modalities are often used based on the requests of referring physicians and the availability of equipment and experience of the radiologists. Most centers use US, CT, and CT-guided biopsy; MR imaging is often used as a problem-solving modality. The main goals of imaging are to assess (1) the nature of the lesions, (2) the number and size of liver abnormalities, and (3) the location of abnormalities relative to the vessels. All these aspects influence clinical and surgical decision making. This chapter describes a number of aspects of liver imaging including the current status and recent development of ultrasound, CT, and MR imaging and the role of these imaging modalities in the assessment of benign hepatic abnormalities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, San Raffaele Hospital, Via Olgettina, 60, 20132, Milan, Italy

    Francesco De Cobelli, Gabriele Ironi, Paolo Marra, Antonio Esposito & Alessandro Del Maschio

Authors
  1. Francesco De Cobelli
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  2. Gabriele Ironi
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  3. Paolo Marra
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  4. Antonio Esposito
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  5. Alessandro Del Maschio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco De Cobelli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hepatobiliary Surgery, San Raffaele Hospital, Milano, Milano, Italy

    Luca Aldrighetti

  2. IRCCS MultiMedica Hospital, Sesto San Giovanni, Milano, Italy

    Francesco Cetta

  3. Hepatobiliary Surgery, San Raffaele Hospital, Milano, Italy

    Gianfranco Ferla

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland

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De Cobelli, F., Ironi, G., Marra, P., Esposito, A., Del Maschio, A. (2015). Imaging Modalities. In: Aldrighetti, L., Cetta, F., Ferla, G. (eds) Benign Tumors of the Liver. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12985-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12985-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12984-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12985-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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