ABSTRACT
The acute abdomen is a potentially life-threatening condition and requires a rapid diagnosis. After clinical inspection and in cases with unclear ultrasound findings or unclear serious symptoms computed tomography (CT) and in pregnant women and children magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is usually necessary. This second part of "Imaging in the acute abdomen" focuses on frequent organ specific causes of the gastrointestinal tract and the urogenital system.
Subject(s)
Abdomen, Acute , Abdomen, Acute/diagnostic imaging , Abdomen, Acute/etiology , Child , Female , Gastrointestinal Tract/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Pregnancy , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Urogenital System/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
The acute abdomen is characterized by acute abdominal pain with defensive muscular tension, can be triggered by a variety of diseases and sometimes represents a life-threatening condition. After clinical inspection, in most cases dedicated imaging should be performed immediately. The frequently causal appendicitis and cholecystitis can mostly be diagnosed with ultrasound. In other cases with unclear ultrasound findings or unclear severe symptoms, computer tomography (CT) is usually necessary without delay. In contrast, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is predominantly indicated in pregnant women and children with unclear ultrasound findings. Thus, the radiologist is an important gatekeeper in the diagnostics of acute abdomen. The radiologist should therefore be familiar with the correct imaging indications, the frequent and rare causes as well as the corresponding morphological imaging characteristics.