• Hepatic Hemangioma: Atypical Appearances on CT, MR Imaging, and Sonography

    Jang HJ, Kim TK, Lim HK, Park SJ, Sim JS, Kim HY, Lee JH.

    Hemangioma is the most common benign tumor of the liver. The classic diagnostic findings for he-mangioma are as follows [1]: on unenhanced CT, hypoattenuation similar to that of vessels; on dynamic contrast-enhanced CT or MR imaging, peripheral globular enhancement and a centripetal fill-in pattern with the attenuation of enhancing areas identical to that of the aorta and blood pool; on T2-and heavily T2-weighted MR imaging, hy-perintensity similar to that of cerebrospinal fluid; on sonography, homogeneous hyper-echogenicity or hypo- or isoechogenicity with a hyperechoic rim; and on delayed phases of Tc RBC scanning, a defect in the early phases that shows prolonged and persistent filling-in. Because of advances in imaging technology, hemangiomas are being detected more frequently. We have encountered various atypical forms that may be difficult to recognize as hemangiomas on cross-sectional imaging. In this pictorial essay, we illustrate the varied appearances of hemangiomas that do not meet conventional criteria on various current imaging techniques and provide possible explanations for their atypical appearances.