title: MR imaging of the biliary system.
abstract: MR imaging has a distinct role to play in two areas of hepatobiliary imaging that continue to challenge the radiologist--evaluation of the gallbladder and evaluation of the jaundiced patient. The distinction between primary gallbladder carcinoma and chronic cholecystitis remains a diagnostic dilemma for all cross-sectional imaging modalities. MR imaging may be useful in detection of local invasion or metastatic disease. Gallstones are commonly seen coincidentally on cross-sectional imaging studies; the imaging characteristics of gallstones must be well-understood for the interpretation of routine abdominal MR examinations. The evaluation of jaundice is a multimodality process, often requiring three or four separate imaging techniques to determine the cause of biliary obstruction. MR may supplant more invasive techniques for anatomic depiction prior to therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Brink
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Borrello
mesh_terms: D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods