A pictorial review of diagnostic pitfalls of developmental anomalies and variants in pancreatic imaging

Abstract

Developmental anomalies and anatomic variants of the pancreas vary widely, and most of them are encountered incidentally during radiologic evaluation. However, some of these anomalies and variants are potentially pathologic and may cause various clinical presentations in childhood or adulthood. The early identification of these entities in various imaging modalities including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging would be valuable in making correct diagnoses and, in turn, preventing unnecessary additional procedures. In order to differentiate these entities, it is fundamental to understand the embryologic development and normal anatomical structure of the pancreas. In this article, we review the embryology and normal anatomy of the pancreas, and diagnostic pitfalls of developmental anomalies and anatomic variants in various pancreatic imaging modalities.

Keywords: Anatomic variants; Developmental anomalies; Developmental variants; Normal variants; Pancreas.