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The practicing radiologist is continually challenged to update his/her competencies so
as to deliver state-of-the-art radiological care. Nowhere is this truer than in the rapidly
evolving world of magnetic resonance imaging, where innovations in both technology
and diagnostic pharmaceuticals have dramatically altered the landscape of practice.
MR imaging plays an important role in the management of patients with liver disease,
permitting not only the detection of benign and malignant hepatic masses but also the
characterization of focal and diffuse liver lesions in a single non-invasive examination.
The excellent soft tissue contrast achievable on MR imaging permits accurate assessment
of both the full extent of tumor infiltration and of the relationship of tumors to adjacent
vascular structures. This information is vital for decisions as to the appropriate
course of treatment for a given patient.With this in mind, this book is aimed at assisting
busy radiologists to incorporate the experience of experts in MR imaging of the liver into
their daily practice. The contributors to this book are highly acclaimed radiologists
with extensive personal experience in abdominal imaging in general and liver MR imaging
in particular. The product of their efforts is a book that comprehensively reviews
the many diseases that affect the liver, and describes in detail the typical enhancement
features of these diseases on MR imaging. Because a number of very different MR contrast
agents are now available for use in MR imaging of the liver, a feature of this book is
the comparative enhancement behavior of lesions on post-contrast imaging after administration
of these agents. For completion, comparison is also made with the typical
enhancement behavior of lesions on alternative diagnostic imaging modalities, namely
ultrasound and computed tomography.
This second edition of “MRI of the Liver” is a revised and extensively updated version
of the first edition published in 2003. The chapters included in the first edition
have been enriched with the most recent information available in the literature, and by
the inclusion of many additional images; the opportunity to directly observe the characteristic
features of the lesions under discussion represents a very efficient learning
tool for practicing radiologists. |
