title: Magnetic resonance imaging: a new tool for diagnosis of acute ischemic colitis?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define the evolution of ischemic lesions with 7T magnetic resonance imaging (7T-MRI) in an animal model of acute colonic ischemia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups. Group I underwent inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) ligation followed by macroscopic observations and histological analysis. In group II, 7T-MRI was performed before and after IMA ligation and followed by histological analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Morphological alterations started to develop 1 h after IMA ligation, when pale areas became evident in the splenic flexure mesentery and progressively worsened up to 8 h thereafter, when the mesentery was less pale, and the splenic flexure loop appeared very dark. The 7T-MRI results reflected these alterations, showing a hyperintense signal in both the intraperitoneal space and the colonic loop wall 1 h after IMA ligation; the latter progressively increased to demonstrate a reduction in the colonic loop lumen at 6 h. Eight hours after IMA ligation, MRI showed a persistent colonic mural hyperintensity associated with a reduction in peritoneal free fluid. The 7T-MRI findings were correlated with histological alterations, varying from an attenuated epithelium with glandular apex lesions at 1 h to coagulative necrosis and loss of the surface epithelium detected 8 h after IMA ligation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI may be used as a substitute for invasive procedures in diagnosing and grading acute ischemic colitis, allowing for the early identification of pathological findings.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiology, Second University of Naples, Piazza Miraglia 2, Naples, Italy. francesca.iacobellis@libero.it
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iacobellis
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berritto
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Somma
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavaliere
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corona
authors.forename: Santolo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cozzolino
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fulciniti
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cappabianca
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rotondo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grassi
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D017091:Colitis, Ischemic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D017537:Mesenteric Artery, Inferior / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley