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Adrenal Glands

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CT of the Retroperitoneum

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Abstract

Most of adrenal lesions are incidentally discovered during imaging examinations for unrelated reasons. The majority of adrenal adenomas contain large amounts of intracytoplasmic lipid and are easily distinguished from non-adenomatous lesions on unenhanced multi-detector CT (MDCT). However, adenomas containing relatively small amounts of lipid account for approximately 30 % of all adenomas and cannot be distinguished from non-adenomatous lesions on the basis of unenhanced MDCT. Therefore, contrast-enhanced MDCT with washout  % calculation is necessary for these lesions. By exploiting the properties of lipid-containing tissues, spectral MDCT provides advantage in adrenal lesions characterization. As a result, unenhanced CT may be omitted from adrenal MDCT protocol if a dual-energy acquisition is performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Policlinico “G. Martino”, Via Consolare Valeria 1, 98100, Messina, Italy

    Achille Mileto

  2. Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Erwin Road DUMC Box 3808, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Achille Mileto, Daniele Marin, Lisa M. Ho & Rendon C. Nelson

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  1. Achille Mileto
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  2. Daniele Marin
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  3. Lisa M. Ho
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  4. Rendon C. Nelson
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Correspondence to Rendon C. Nelson .

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Italia

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Mileto, A., Marin, D., Ho, L.M., Nelson, R.C. (2014). Adrenal Glands. In: CT of the Retroperitoneum. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5469-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5469-1_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-5468-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-5469-1

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