European Journal of Radiology 61 (2007) 3–10 Review Multidetector CT and MRI findings in periportal space pathologies Musturay Karcaaltincaba * , Mithat Haliloglu, Erhan Akpinar, Deniz Akata, Mustafa Ozmen, Macit Ariyurek, Okan Akhan Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Ankara 06100, Turkey Received 9 October 2006; accepted 2 November 2006 Abstract Periportal region is an anatomic space around portal vein comprising hepatic artery, bile duct, nerves, lymphatics and a potential space. Periportal pathologies may involve any of these structures diffusely or focally with characteristic radiologic findings. Radiologic findings can be helpful in differential diagnosis of pathologies of periportal structures including periportal cavernomatous transformation, hepatic artery aneurysm, biliary diseases, neurofibromatosis, lymphoma, langerhans’ cell histiocytosis, periportal fatty infiltration and other causes of periportal halo in adult and pediatric patients. Lobar/segmental intrahepatic involvement can be seen in neurofibromatosis, cavernomatous transformation, fatty infiltration and periportal edema. In this review, we discuss CT and MRI findings of periportal pathologies which can be in the form of diffuse or segmental/lobar involvement. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Periportal; Pathology; Hepatic artery; Portal vein; Periportal halo; Nerves; Lymphatics; Periportal space Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3 2. Periportal pathologies ...................................................................................................... 3 2.1. Pathologies of portal vein ............................................................................................ 3 2.2. Pathologies of hepatic artery ......................................................................................... 5 2.3. Pathologies of periportal lymphatics ................................................................................... 5 2.4. Pathologies of periportal nerves ....................................................................................... 6 2.5. Pathologies of biliary system ......................................................................................... 8 2.6. Pathologies of periportal space (periportal halo) ........................................................................ 9 3. Segmental/lobar intrahepatic involvement .................................................................................... 9 4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 9 References ................................................................................................................ 9 1. Introduction Periportal region is a frequently used term to describe pathologies around portal vein and its branches which has intra- hepatic and extrahepatic parts. Hepatic artery branches, bile duct branches, autonomic nerves, lymphatics and a potential space are found within portal triad (Fig. 1). A variety of pathologies * Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 312 3051188; fax: +90 312 3112145. E-mail address: musturayk@yahoo.com (M. Karcaaltincaba). can involve any of these structures with characteristic radiologic findings [1–9]. In this review, we illustrate CT and MRI find- ings of diffuse and segmental/lobar involvement of periportal pathologies. 2. Periportal pathologies 2.1. Pathologies of portal vein Portal vein is the most prominent anatomic structure in the periportal space and portal vein pathologies are the most com- 0720-048X/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2006.11.009