Imaging of intestinal involvement in endometriosis.

Deep gastrointestinal involvement in endometriosis is characterised by fibrous, retractile thickening of the intestinal wall. The most common location is the upper rectum, in contiguity with a lesion of the torus uterinus. As part of a preoperative assessment, it is essential to establish an accurate and exhaustive map of intestinal lesions so that the surgeon can plan his actions. Transvaginal sonography and MRI correctly analyse pelvic and rectal involvement. Given the frequency of multiple intestinal sites, particularly sigmoid and associated ileo-caecal lesions, water enema CT should be performed. The role of rectal endoscopic sonography is debated.

Rectal malacoplakia in renal transplantation: MR features.

This report describes the CT and MRI features of rectal malacoplakia in a renal transplant recipient. The lesion appeared strongly hyperdense (105 HU) on unenhanced CT and demonstrated hypointense signal on T1- and T2-weighted MR imaging with slight homogeneous enhancement after gadolinium injection. These characteristics distinguish this lesion from other more common neoplastic, inflammatory rectal lesions that are typically isointense on T1-weighted imaging and enhance variably after gadolinium injection. Characteristic intracytoplasmic siderocalcific spherules in malacoplakia can produce suggestive features on unenhanced CT and MRI.