OBJECTIVE : Sickle cell disease (SCD), being prevalent in the western belt of Orissa, the following study was undertaken to evaluate the various spectrum of abdominal sonographic findings involving the liver, spleen, gall bladder and kidneys. MATERIALS AND METHODS : The study included fifty patients of SCD presented with acute symptoms of sickle cell crisis. RESULTS : The most frequent US findings in the study were: hepatomegaly (72 percent), splenomegaly (64 percent) and cholelithiasis (22 percent). 22 percent of patients presented with splenic infarction, 10 percent patients showed splenic calcification. Increased bilateral renal echogenicity was observed in 16 percent of patients. CONCLUSIONS : To conclude ultrasonography is a readily accessible and non invasive method for the evaluation of different abdominal organs.

We are reporting a case of intussusception of pyloric antrum into the first part of duodenum, which was dilated because of a localized ileus occurring as a sequel to acute cholecystitis. No other precipitating cause, such as a lead point, was foundon laparotomy. The intussusception yielded to manual reduction.

A Mesenteric teratoma in an adult male is an extremely rare tumor. Cystic lesion in male abdominal cavity has limited differential diagnosis as compared to female. It causes diagnostic dilemma in clinical practice. We report an adult male patient who had a mesenteric teratoma. The purpose of this report is to familiarize radiologists with the characteristic imaging appearances of this tumour, which is commoner in females but still extremely rare. The unique feature of this case is entire skull formation within the teratoma.

Prenatal sonographic findings in meconium peritonitis are described with illustrations. The characteristic findings include polyhydramnios, fetal ascites, and echogenic calcific foci with distal shadowing

OBJECTIVES : To evaluate the role of dual phase helical CT in the detection and characterization of renal masses. MATERIALS AND METHODS : A prospective study of twenty two patients was undertaken with CT to characterize indeterminate renal masses. Inall patients, five mm thick contiguous sections were obtained from the kidneys before and after injection of intravenous contrast material in corticomedullary and nephrographic phases. RESULTS : Renal neoplasms and normal renal cortex showed significantlygreater enhancement in the nephrographic phase compared with that in corticomedullary phase (p= 0.01). Renal veins are best visualised in corticomedullary phase and inferior vena cava is better visualized in nephrographic phase. CONCLUSION : Conspicuity of renal neoplasms is better in nephrographic phase compared to corticomedullary phase. Renal veins are best visualised in corticomedullary phase and inferior vena cava is better visualized in nephrographic phase. If dedicated renal CT is requested for a suspected renal mass, the helical scan series to be obtained are unenhanced, corticomedullary and nephrographic phase images.

Purpose : To evaluate the efficacy of multislice computerized tomography (MSCT) in imaging the upper and lower limb arterial tree in trauma, peripheral vascular disease and bone tumors. Materials and methods: Since the installation of multidetector CT (4 detectors) in our institution, 35 patients have undergone CT angiography of the upper or the lower limb. Of these, 23 were of suspected arterial injury, 10 were with symptoms of peripheral vascular disease and 2 patients had a bone tumor. All patients were scanned in the supine position with a slice thickness of 3 mm and a collimation of 2.5 mm in a single sitting, with 150-180 cc of water based iodinated contrast medium injected at a rate of 3 cc/sec, via a pressure injector. Axial images were then reconstructed with 50 percent overlap and then transferred to a dedicated workstation for 3-D reconstruction and analysis; in maximum intensity projection (MIP), volume rendered (VR) and surface shaded display (SSD) images. The findings were then retrospectively compared with the surgical outcome in cases of trauma with suspected arterial injuries; or Colour Doppler correlation was obtained, for patients of peripheral vascular disease. Results : All the patients withstood the procedure well, with diagnostically adequate vascular enhancement. No image degradation due to respiration or motion artifacts and no serious post procedure complications due to the amount of contrast or the radiation dosage used were noted. CT angiography allowed a comprehensive diagnostic workup in all trauma cases with suspected arterial injuries, showing spasm in 7 patients (30.43 percent), compression in 9 patients (39.13 percent), contusion in 4 patients (17.39 percent) while any vascular injury was positively ruled out in 3 patients (13.04 percent), thus aiding in their management in a critically significant short time. The bony skeleton, soft tissues and the other visceral organs were simultaneously evaluated for the presence of any injury. In the 10 cases of peripheral vascular diseases, CT angiography adequately demonstrated the presence of any stenosis or occlusion, its degree and extent, the presence of collaterals and distal reformation if any; the presence of plaques, soft or calcified and the probable usefulness and the type of treatment, which should be employed. The role of CT angiography in the evaluation of bone and soft tissue tumours could not be fully explored due to inadequate number of cases. Conclusion : Our initial experience of CT angiography with multislice CT has clearly demonstrated its efficacy as a promising new, fast, accurate, safe and non-invasive imaging modality of choice in cases of trauma with suspected arterial injuries; and as a useful screening modality in cases of peripheral vascular diseases for diagnosis, for grading, for potential usefulness and type of treatment and also in the follow-up of patients, post treatment.

Molecular imaging is a promising field, which aims at developing and testing various tools, reagents and methods to image specific molecular pathways in humans, particularly those that are key targets in disease processes. Unlike 'classical' diagnostic imaging; instead of the symptoms-oriented search that operates empirically to modify the behavior of the patient, molecular medicine sets forth to probe molecular abnormalities that are the basis of the disease, rather than to image the end effects of these molecular alterations. Radiologists will play a leading role in directing developments of this embryonic but rapidly expanding field. This article presents some basics in molecular sciences and the fundamentals of molecular imaging including itsgenetic perspective and shows how imaging can be used, to assess specific molecular targets. In the future, specific imaging of such targets will allow earlier detection and characterization of disease, earlier and direct molecular assessment of treatment effects, and a more fundamental understanding of the disease processes.