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Imaging of hepatobiliary involvement in sarcoidosis

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Abstract

Sarcoidosis is mainly a disease of the respiratory system; however, several other organ systems may be affected in the course of the disease. Liver is one of the most frequently affected organs in the setting of sarcoidosis after lungs and lymph nodes. Microscopic hepatic involvement is common in these patients but is mostly clinically silent. However, in a significant portion of these patients, macroscopic findings can be detected in the course of the disease, and these findings may easily be confused with other benign and malignant conditions of the liver. The purposes of this article are to briefly summarize the clinical findings and the underlying pathophysiology of sarcoidosis and detailed presentation of the radiologic findings of hepatic involvement in this disease. We subgrouped the imaging findings based on the location and the radiologic appearance of the hepatic involvement. We tried to provide images that would enable the readers to link the imaging findings with the underlying pathology and clinical symptoms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, 06100, Ankara, Turkey

    Ali Devrim Karaosmanoğlu, Mehmet Ruhi Onur & Musturay Karcaaltincaba

  2. Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Sanjay Saini & Azadeh Taberi

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  1. Ali Devrim Karaosmanoğlu
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  2. Mehmet Ruhi Onur
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  3. Sanjay Saini
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Correspondence to Mehmet Ruhi Onur.

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Karaosmanoğlu, A.D., Onur, M.R., Saini, S. et al. Imaging of hepatobiliary involvement in sarcoidosis. Abdom Imaging 40, 3330–3337 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-015-0533-6

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