Angiomyolipoma MRI
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Angiomyolipoma MRI |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor-In-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]
Overview
MRI
MRI is excellent at evaluating fat containing lesions, and two main set of sequences are employed. Firstly, and traditionally if you will, fat saturated techniques demonstrate high signal intensity on non-fat saturated sequences, and loss of signal following fat saturation.
The second method is to use in and out of phase imaging which generates India ink artifact at the interface between fat and non-fat components. This can occur either at the interface between the angiomyolipoma and surrounding kidney or between fat and non-fat components of the mass 8.
It is essential to remember that rarely renal cell carcinomas may have macroscopic fat components and as such the presence of fat is strongly indicative of an angiomyolipoma, but not pathognomonic. Since macroscopic fat in RCC almost always occurs in the presence of ossification/calcification, absence of ossification/calcification on imaging is in favour of AML.
[[
Image:Angiomyolipoma 101.jpg|thumb|left|350px|MRI: Angiomyolipoma]]
