The last surviving wall

A total of 66 patients with advanced coronary artery disease (CAD) and 36 with dilated cardiomyopathies (DCM) with ejection fractions less than 20% were analyzed retrospectively to establish patterns of wall motion in each of four quadrants on standard left anterior oblique gated radionuclide ventriculograms. In both disease states the best preserved wall motion was found in the basal free wall quadrant of the left ventricle. The two terminal disease states could not be differentiated on the basis of wall motion patterns.     

Coronary artery wall imaging

Like X‐Ray contrast angiography, MR coronary angiograms show the vessel lumens rather than the vessels themselves. Consequently, outward remodeling of the vessel wall, which occurs in subclinical coronary disease before luminal narrowing, cannot be seen. The current gold standard for assessing the coronary vessel wall is intravascular ultrasound, and more recently, optical coherence tomography, both of which are invasive and use ionizing radiation. A noninvasive, low‐risk technique for assessing the vessel wall would be beneficial to cardiologists interested in the early detection of preclinical disease and for the safe monitoring of the progression or regression of disease in longitudinal studies. In this review article, the current state of the art in MR coronary vessel wall imaging is discussed, together with validation studies and recent developments. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2015;41:1190–1202. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Diagnosis of duodenal wall hematoma

Blunt trauma to the epigastrium is becoming an increasingly important cause of injury and may result in retroperitoneal haematoma involving the head of the pancreas as well as the descending duodenum. Ultrasound seems to be of great advantage in the diagnosis of the effects and complications of blunt abdominal trauma such as obstruction of the biliary tree, the gastric outlet and the inferior vena cava. Direct involvement of the descending duodenum seems to be relatively uncommon, intramural haematoma of the duodenum is described only rarely in the literature. Three additional cases of intramural haematoma of the duodenum are reported with particular reference to the recent literature.     

Imaging of chest wall infections

A wide variety of infections can affect the chest wall including pyogenic, tuberculous, fungal, and some other unusual infections. These potentially life-threatening disorders are frequent especially among immunocompromised patients but often misdiagnosed by physical examination and radiographs. The purpose of this article is to describe the clinical and imaging features of these different chest wall infections according to the different imaging modalities with emphasis on ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The outcome of chest wall infection depends on early diagnosis, severity of the immunosuppression, offending organism, and extent of infection. Because clinical findings and laboratory tests may be not contributive in immunocompromised patients, imaging plays an important role in the early detection and precise assessment of the disease. US, CT, and MRI are all useful: bone destruction is more accurately detected with CT whereas soft tissue involvement are better visualized with US and MRI. CT and US are also used to guide percutaneous biopsy and drainage procedures. MR images are helpful in pre-operative planning of extensive chest wall infections.     

Radiology of chest wall masses

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to highlight the role of radiography, CT, PET/CT, and MRI in the diagnosis and management of chest wall lesions. Chest wall masses are caused by a spectrum of clinical entities. The lesions highlighted in this selection of case scenarios include neoplastic, inflammatory, and vascular lesions. CONCLUSION: Imaging evaluation with radiography, CT, MRI, and PET/CT plays an important role in the accurate diagnosis of chest wall lesions. It can also facilitate percutaneous biopsy, when it is indicated. Imaging enables accurate staging and is a key component of treatment planning for chest wall masses.     

Treatment of the chest wall

Irradiation of the chest wall is sometimes given following radical or modified radical mastectomy. The aim of treatment planning in such cases is to deliver a uniform dose to a superficial layer of tissue a few centimeters thick with an acceptably low dose to underlying tissues, particularly the lung. Both tangential photon beams and appositional electron beams have been used for this purpose, the choice between them being determined by the radiation modalities available, the extent and thickness of the designated target volume and the curvature of the patient's contour in the region. In this paper we will consider a few examples of both types of treatment with emphasis on the use of multiple electron fields. Dose distributions for the following plans were calculated using the system developed at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton. In this system electron dose calculations are based on the Fermi-Eyges theory of multiple Coulomb scattering using the programs developed by Hogstrom and his co-workers.     

Elastofibroma: chest wall pseudotumor

A 68-year-old man had a painless, nontender lump in the right infrascapular region. An unenhanced computed tomography (CT) scan showed a soft-tissue mass attached to the scapula, causing muscular displacement. A similar, smaller mass was found on the left side. The appearance of the masses on CT scans was suggestive of infiltrating malignancy, but pathologic examination disclosed findings typical of elastofibroma. Biopsy is recommended in similar cases to exclude sarcoma.     

腹壁子宫内膜异位症1例

患者女，38岁。7年前行剖腹产术。2年前发现腹部包块，时有疼痛，疼痛与月经无关，抗炎治疗后疼痛减轻。来院就诊。体格检查：下腹部见长12cm纵行手术瘢痕，瘢痕下缘可触及一4cm×3cm大小肿块，质硬，活动良好，边界较清，无压痛。[第一段]