Premium
Inferior phrenic arteries: Depiction with thin‐section three‐dimensional contrast‐enhanced dynamic MR imaging with fat suppression
Author(s) -
Ito Katsuyoshi,
Kim MyeongJin,
Mitchell Donald G.,
Honjo Kazumitsu
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/1522-2586(200102)13:2<201::aid-jmri1030>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , cirrhosis , contrast (vision) , artery , radiology , nuclear medicine , anatomy , cardiology , artificial intelligence , computer science
The purpose of this study was to evaluate visibility of the inferior phrenic arteries in normal subjects at thin‐section, multiphasic, three‐dimensional (3D) contrast‐enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with fat suppression, and to compare the appearances and frequencies of MR visualization of these vessels between normal and cirrhotic patients. This study included 95 patients (44 normal and 51 cirrhotic patients) who underwent 3D contrast‐enhanced dynamic imaging on a high‐performance gradient (25 mT/m) system as a part of abdominal MR examinations. The right and left inferior phrenic arteries were visible in 84% and 73% of the normal subjects, respectively. The averaged rating for visibility in the right inferior phrenic artery was significantly greater in the cirrhotic patients than in the normal subjects (2.1 ± 0.1 vs. 1.7 ± 0.2; P = 0.040). Mean diameters of the right inferior phrenic artery in the cirrhotic patients (1.7 ± 0.1 mm) were significantly larger ( P = 0.002) than those in the normal subjects (1.3 ± 0.1 mm). No significant difference was noted in the mean diameters and the visibility of the left inferior phrenic artery between the two groups. The inferior phrenic arteries can frequently be identified on thin‐section, 3D contrast‐enhanced arterial‐phase dynamic MR images with fat‐suppression techniques. Dilatation of the right inferior phrenic artery depicted by this technique may be a nonspecific but an additional secondary finding suggestive of cirrhosis. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;13:201–206. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.