Learning objectives
- To review the different patterns of expression in liver involved diseases.
- To analyse these patterns to find a likely diagnosis considering its physiopathology and radiological findings.
Background
Diffuse liver disease is a very frequent entity in imaging studies that can be found in different pathologies: vascular disease, storage liver diseases, inflammatory-infectious processes, infiltrative lesions, or even alterations secondary to certain treatments. Knowing the physiopathology of these processes and their radiological correlation may lead us to an appropriate diagnosis when dealing with case of diffuse liver affectation.
Diffuse liver disease can be classified in different ways. Here we are going to expose two different ways: according to their pathogenesis and to their radiological...
Findings and procedure details
1. CIRRHOSIS:
It is the final stage of chronic liver disease, characterized by progressive fibrosis and increased risk of hepatocarcinoma (HCC). It is a spectrum of presentation ranging from no significant alterations to extensive fibrosis. Some of its main features are described below:
-Liver morphology alterations: right lobe atrophy, left and caudate lobes hypertrophy.
- Hepatic hilum enlargement, indentation of the posterior margin ("right posterior notch sign") and interlobar fissures widening.
- Early heterogeneous enhancement and late wedge-shaped abnormalities (fibrosis) in multiphasic studies.
[Fig 2]...
Conclusion
Several pathological entities can cause diffuse liver disease, so it is essential to know the different presentation patterns for its correct diagnosis.
Despite these classifications, which are intended to show the typical patterns of presentation in diffuse liver disease, it should not be forgotten that the same etiology can present different manifestations. It is therefore always essential to correlate radiological findings with the clinical context.
Personal information and conflict of interest
A. Michael-Fernández:
Nothing to disclose
E. Antolinos-Macho:
Nothing to disclose
E. Canales-Lachen:
Nothing to disclose
A. Salgado-Parente:
Nothing to disclose
A. González-Huete:
Nothing to disclose
S. Ventura Díaz:
Nothing to disclose
A. Villanueva:
Nothing to disclose
M. I. Garcia Gomez Muriel:
Nothing to disclose
M. C. Gonzalez Gordaliza:
Nothing to disclose
References
Robert M. Marks, Kathryn J. Fowler, Mustafa R. Bashir. MR Imaging of Diffuse Liver Disease. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinics of North America. 2021; Vol 29 (3): 347-358.
Ichiro Tani, Yasuyuki Kurihara, Atsua Kawaguchi. MR Imaging of Diffuse Liver Disease. AJR 2000; Vol 174: 965-971.
Sergey Leshchinskiy, Christopher Kanner, David P. Keating. Pseudocirrhosis. Abdominal Radiology. 2018. Vol 43: 3197-3198.
Michael L. Wells, MD Eric R. Fenstad, MD Joseph T. Poterucha, DO. Imaging Findings of Congestive Hepatopathy. RadioGraphics. 2016; Vol 36: 1024-1037.
M.J. Parada Blázqueza, D. Rodríguez...