CT of blunt trauma to the bowel and mesentery

The high mortality and morbidity rates associated with traumatic rupture of the hollow viscera have been attributed to the clinical difficulty in establishing an early diagnosis. CT has been shown to be accurate for detecting bowel and mesenteric injuries caused by blunt trauma and may be useful in predicting the need for either surgical repair or conservative management. However, many major gastrointestinal injuries have subtle CT findings. In this pictorial essay, we illustrate the broad spectrum of gastrointestinal abnormalities that can be shown by CT in patients with blunt abdominal trauma.