The neurofibroma of the oesophagus. Case report.

A case of oesophageal neurofibroma is reported; its low incidence among the benign tumours of the oesophagus is pointed out. The clinical, radiologic and histologic features of this very rare tumour are described.

Airway and lung parenchyma morphology during the respiratory cycle.

OBJECTIVE: Describe the morphological changes that take place in the lung parenchyma and in the airways during the respiratory cycle with a view to establishing a relationship between them. SUBJECTS: Adult Wistar rats. INTERVENTIONS: The lungs were fixed at seven different points in the respiratory cycle: Inflation, 10 and 20 cm. transpulmonary pressure, total lung capacity. Deflation, 20, 15, 10 and 0 cm transpulmonary pressure. MEASUREMENTS: The lungs were processed for morphometric study and bronchial and parenchymal variables, such as lung volume, number of alveoli, anatomic dead space, bronchial lumen surface and bronchial wall surface were quantified. The results were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA) or the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney's U tests. RESULTS: The lung volume, the number of alveoli and the anatomic dead space increased with the increase of the transpulmonary pressure and decreased with the decrease of it, the obtained values in deflation being higher than those in inflation (p<0.05). The bronchial lumen and the bronchial wall surfaces generally showed higher values in inflation than in deflation (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The anatomic dead space was altered as a consequence of the variations in airway diameter and length. Lung parenchyma tension may have been of influence in the variations of the bronchial wall.

[Diagnostic imaging of inflammatory bowel disease]. / Diagnóstico por imagen en la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal.

This article considers the possibilities of different image acquisition techniques in the study of inflammatory bowel disease, with special emphasis on the roles of tomodensitometry and magnetic resonance imaging. Although these techniques are not superior to barium follow through studies or conventional enteroclysis at depicting the mucosa in detail, they are very useful in the evaluation of the characteristics of the walls of the bowel loops and in the detection of possible extraluminal complications, such as abscesses, adenopathies, and mesenteric involvement. Magnetic resonance shows great potential for the study of the small bowel and is likely to play an important role in the study of inflammatory bowel disease in the near future. This recurring disease affects young patients with long life expectancies in whom exposure to ionizing radiation needs to be minimized. We explain the radiologic findings through a physiopathologic approach to the sequence of events (aphthoid ulcers, fissuring and penetrating ulcerations, formation of fistulous tracts, abscesses, mesenteric involvement) that give rise to them. We propose an objective classification based on the imaging findings that is useful for therapeutic decision making, and we describe the important role of the radiologist in the follow-up as well as in the diagnosis of this entity.

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of a case of von Hippel-Lindau disease.

We present a case of von Hippel-Lindau disease with special reference to the findings in MR imaging of visceral abdominal manifestations.

Cystic masses of the spleen: radiologic-pathologic correlation.

Many focal splenic lesions may appear to be cystic at cross-sectional imaging. In this article, the following types of cystic splenic masses are discussed: congenital (true cyst), inflammatory (abscesses, hydatid cyst), vascular (infarction, peliosis), posttraumatic (hematoma, false cyst), and neoplastic (hemangioma, lymphangioma, lymphoma, metastasis). The key findings at ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging can be correlated with underlying gross and microscopic pathologic findings. Although tissue sampling is still required in many cases to yield a definitive diagnosis, recognition and understanding of the spectrum of imaging and pathologic features of these lesions often help narrow the differential diagnosis.

Cystic masses of the pancreas.

Although the pseudocyst is the most common cystic mass of the pancreas found at imaging studies, radiologists should be aware of the multiple disease processes that can manifest in a similar manner. This article reviews these other entities by category of the origin of the mass, including congenital, inflammatory, and neoplastic. Computed tomography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging studies are presented, and, although the considerable overlap of imaging features makes it generally impossible to render a specific diagnosis, combining the findings from these modalities is helpful in formulating a differential diagnosis. Because a cystic mass of the pancreas is not always a pseudocyst, percutaneous drainage should be followed by cytologic analysis of the aspirate. A biopsy of the wall of the cystic mass may also be necessary.

Cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma: diagnosis by MR imaging.

We report a case of cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma the initial clinical features of which were pericardial effusion, clinical symptoms of congestive heart failure and probable pulmonary thromboembolism, in which echocardiography constituted the first approach to the diagnosis of cardiac tumor and MRI confirmed it, precisely delimiting the tumoral extension and possible infiltration of pericardiac structures. A brief literature review of this entity is given, the MRI findings obtained in our case are described, and we discuss the advantages and limitations of this technique as compared with other alternatives of image diagnosis.