Advanced multimodality imaging of inflammatory bowel disease in 2015: An update

The diagnosis and effective management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requires a combination clinical, endoscopic, histological, biological, and imaging data. While endoscopy and biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis of IBD, imaging plays a central role in the assessment of extra mural disease, in disease surveillance and in the assessment of response to medical treatments, which are often expensive. Imaging is also vital in the detection and diagnosis of disease related complications, both acute and chronic. In this review, we will describe, with illustrative images, the imaging features of IBD in adults, with emphasis on up-to-date imaging techniques focusing predominantly on cross sectional imaging and new magnetic resonance imaging techniques.