[MRI venous angiography of the abdomen]

The assessment of abdominal vessels by conventional methods is invasive and frequently does not yield an accurate diagnosis, particularly in evaluation of the portal venous system. MR angiography is non-invasive and is well suited to the examination of abdominal veins. Both vessel morphology and intravascular flow patterns can be characterized with this method. Clinical indications include portal hypertension, portal vein thrombosis, portosystemic shunts as well as assessment of congenital anomalies, thrombus and tumor propagation into the inferior vena cava and the renal veins. In the future MR angiography is likely to evolve into the modality of choice for non-invasive evaluation of abdominal venous structures.