To review the normal anatomy of the prostate and neurovascular bundles on MRI and to compare it to prostatectomy specimens. To correlate the histologic findings of surgical margins of prostatectomy specimens with MRI images, in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) treated with Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy.

In patients with PCa, the detection of extra-capsular extension (ECE) is important for preoperative planning and MRI is the main imaging method used to stage PCa. However, the classical MRI reported features to detect ECE are not specific but only suspicious for microscopic ECE. The surgeons need to know whether the neurovascular bundle is involved, as nerve-sparing robotic prostatectomy could be performed with likely negative surgical margins in patients with organ-confined PCa. This minimally invasive technique avoids important side effects such as sexual dysfunction and...

Anatomy of the Prostate Gland The prostate gland can be divided into three zones with distinct embryologic origins. The peripheral zone (PZ) is the largest part of the prostatic gland in young adults. It is deficient anteriorly, in continuity with the anterior fibromuscular stroma. The PZ has a cup-like shape and can be distinguished on T2-weighted images by its high-signal intensity (greater than adjacent fat). On T1-weighted images, it has a homogeneous intermediate signal. The central zone (CZ) makes up about 25% of the prostatic...

It is fundamental for the radiologist to understand the pathologic aspects of ECE to better evaluate the MRI findings of PCa.

B. S. D. Flor De Lima: Nothing to disclose G. Freire: Nothing to disclose A. Lopes: Nothing to disclose J. Cassis: Nothing to disclose A. Guerra: Nothing to disclose

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