Focal lesions in the cirrhotic liver: High resolution ex vivo MRI with pathologic correlation

Cirrhosis is a progressive, diffuse process of liver fibrosis that is chara cterized by architectural distortion and the development of a spectrum of n odules ranging from benign regenerative nodules to premalignant dysplastic nodules to overtly malignant hepatocellular carcinoma. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the ex vivo MR and pathology findings of these nodu les as well as other masses that can be seen in the cirrhotic liver. The op timal conditions under which ex vivo imaging can be performed allow greater spatial resolution than that achieved with in vivo imaging, without artifa cts that may degrade image quality. Clearly, contrast-enhanced MRI is essen tial for both the diagnosis and the characterization of focal lesions in th e cirrhotic liver. However, the use of ex vivo imaging precludes the evalua tion of these important in vivo pulse sequences. Index Terms: Cirrhosis-Liv er, diseases-Magnetic resonance imaging-Magnetic resonance imaging, techniq ues.