Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Neoplasia, Diagnostic procedure, MR, Genital / Reproductive system female, Pelvis
Authors:
L. M. Misiego Trabado, C. Méndez Diaz, E. Rodriguez Garcia, R. Soler Fernández, A. Prado Prado, D. Dominguez Conde; A Coruña/ES
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-1500
Background
Leiomyomas are benign smooth muscle tumors (SMT) and are the most common among mesenchymal tumors in the female genital tract.
They occur most commonly in the uterus but may be found wherever there is smooth muscle.
SMT of male genital tract are very uncommon neoplasms.
MR imaging is the most accurate imaging technique for detection,
localization,
and characterization of these tumors,
which usually show a low signal intensity similar to that of smooth muscle on T2-weighted images.
However,
benign SMT may pose considerable diagnostic problems and can be difficult to distinguish from leiomyosarcomas when present with unusual morphology,
atypical imaging findings,
or unusual growth patterns or anatomic distribution.
We present a pictorial review of unusual locations and rare manifestations of genital SMT with the clue MRI features most useful for their diagnosis.