[Multidetector CT and MRI of biliary diseases]

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) retains an important clinical role for diagnostic imaging of intra- and extrahepatic biliary disorders, since access to MR cholangiography is limited in many settings. With regard to the recent technical innovations due to the advent of multidetector CT, it appears interesting to reappraise the respective role of CT and MR imaging and to define the situations in which MR imaging is clearly superior and those in which CT may be sufficient. MR cholangiography is the most reliable noninvasive technique for choledocho-lithiasis, and the current literature provides no evidence that multidetector CT could replace it for this indication. In the context of stenoses and cystic disorders, however, contrast--enhanced CT with 2D and 3D reconstructions can often provide sufficient information to answer the clinically relevant questions.