title: Invisible fat on CT: making it visible by MRI.
abstract: Presence of fat in a lesion significantly narrows the differential diagnosis. Small quantities of macroscopic fat and intracellular fat are invisible on computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can reveal any fatty change in a lesion and can also differentiate macroscopic fat from intracellular and intravoxel fat. Hypodensity on CT may be a sign of invisible fat and MRI can help to diagnose even minute amounts of fat in liver, pancreas, adrenal, musculoskeletal, and omental pseudolesions and lesions. This article will review the superiority of MRI over CT in demonstrating fat in abdominal lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University School of Medicine Ankara, Turkey; Department of Radiology, Zonguldak Atatürk State Hospital, Zonguldak, Turkey. musturayk@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ünal
authors.forename: Ali Devrim
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Karaosmanoğlu
authors.forename: Deniz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Akata
authors.forename: Mustafa Nasuh
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Özmen
authors.forename: Muşturay
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karçaaltıncaba
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*