Latest developments in the imaging of fibrotic liver disease.

According to the World Health Organization, liver cirrhosis accounted for 1.8% of all deaths in Europe, causing about 170,000 deaths per year. Approximately 29 million persons in the EU suffer from chronic liver disease and this trend is on the rise.

'The ins and outs of abdominal pain': a case report of a transomental internal hernia.

We present the case of a 46-year-old man admitted with acute abdominal pain with no obvious cause despite simple investigations. Further imaging revealed a rare transomental internal hernia. At exploratory laparotomy, the hernia was released, no bowel resection was required and the patient was discharged 2 days later.

Musculoskeletal manifestations of sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease results from the presence of abnormal beta globin chains within hemoglobin and may be manifested in anemia, vaso-occlusion, and superimposed infection. The gene that causes sickle cell disease is particularly prevalent in populations of African origin; approximately 8% of African Americans and 40% of the members of some African tribes carry the gene for hemoglobin S. Over time, the disease produces various musculoskeletal abnormalities as a result of chronic anemia; these include marrow hyperplasia, reversion of yellow marrow to red marrow, and, occasionally, extramedullary hematopoiesis.

Recent advances in small-bowel imaging: a review.

This review outlines technical advances in imaging of the small bowel. These include enhancement characteristics of normal bowel mucosa in computed tomography, contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, contrast ultrasonography, small-bowel transit measurements by radionuclide imaging, and enteroscopy. Subsequently, the application of these in clinical problem areas, including small-bowel obstruction, bleeding, and Crohn and celiac disease, will indicate the excellent potential of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and enteroscopy in particular.