title: Abdominal amyloidosis: spectrum of radiological findings.
abstract: Amyloidosis is a disease characterized by the deposition of fibrillar protein amyloid of beta-structure in organs or tissues. It is usually classified as either a primary disease or secondary to a co-existent condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, or neoplasm (particularly multiple myeloma or renal cell carcinoma). Amyloid protein deposition can be seen in a variety of organs though it occurs with higher frequency in the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and heart. Amyloidosis can have a wide spectrum of manifestations in nearly every abdominal organ. Some of these, for example, multiple cystic submucosal masses of the stomach, amyloidosis of the gallbladder, and dirty soft tissue infiltration of the subcutaneous fat, have not yet been covered in the radiological literature. The combination of various imaging techniques and the identification of characteristic computed tomography (CT) hepatic features may help in the differentiation of amyloidosis from other infiltrative diseases; however, confirmative diagnosis can usually only be achieved by tissue biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Collage of Medicine, South Korea.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002765:Cholecystography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007420:Intestine, Large / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007668:Kidney / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013154:Spleen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013270:Stomach / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D040521:Subcutaneous Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography