1. Contour variations of the body and tail of the pancreas: evaluation with MDCT
- Author
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Yasunari Yamada, Kazuhisa Kosen, Maki Kiyonaga, Hidetoshi Miyake, Ahmad Khalid Omeri, Hiromu Mori, Ryo Takaji, and Shunro Matsumoto
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Pancreatic parenchyma ,Pancreatic body ,Pancreatic disease ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Contrast Media ,Iopamidol ,030218 nuclear medicine & medical imaging ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Maximum diameter ,Multidetector Computed Tomography ,medicine ,Humans ,Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging ,Pancreas ,Aged ,Retrospective Studies ,Aged, 80 and over ,business.industry ,Pancreatic tail ,Anatomy ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Radiation therapy ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Female ,business ,medicine.drug - Abstract
To analyze morphology/contour variations of the pancreatic body and tail in subjects free of pancreatic disease. We retrospectively reviewed triple-phase, contrast-enhanced multi-detector row computed tomography (3P-CE-MDCT) examinations of 449 patients who had no clinical or CT evidence of pancreatic diseases. These patients were evaluated for morphologic/contour variations of the pancreatic body and tail, which were classified into two types. In Type I, a portion of normal pancreatic parenchyma protrudes >1 cm in maximum diameter from the body or tail (Ia-anteriorly; Ib-posteriorly). Type II was defined as a morphologic anomaly of the pancreatic tail (IIa-globular; IIb-lobulated; IIc-tapered; IId-bifid). Thirty-eight (8.5%) out of 449 patients had body or tail variations. Of those, 23 patients showed Type I variant: Ia in 21 and Ib in two. Type II variant was identified in 15 patients: IIa in eight, IIb in two, IIc in two and IId in three. Protrusion of the anterior surface of the normal pancreas, especially in the tail, was the most frequently occurring variant. Recognizing the types and subtypes of morphology/contour variations of the pancreatic body and tail could help prevent misinterpretation of normal variants as pancreatic tumors on unenhanced MDCT.
- Published
- 2017
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