[Imaging techniques for the evaluation of systemic manifestations of vasculitis]

Vasculitides create a local inflammatory process in the vessel wall, which determines the different organic manifestations according to vessel size and location. Imaging techniques play a key role in the characterization and detection of large and medium size vessel vasculitides. Imaging is able to detect the vessel wall edema and to monitor the therapeutic response. In small vessel vasculitis, imaging can indirectly analyse the organic and/or systemic manifestations, because at present, none of the imaging techniques has the necessary spatial resolution to directly visualize small vessels.