Thursday, February 24, 2011

Corkscrews in Radiology

Some of the more famous corkscrews in radiology include:
  • Corkscrew esophagus (shown above): Seen in diffuse esophageal spasm.
  • Corkscrew proximal small bowel (shown below): Appearance of the duodenum and jejunum in midgut volvulus.
  • Corkscrew hepatic arteries: Due to increased arterial flow and decreased liver size in cirrhosis.
  • Corkscrew collaterals: Represent collaterals in the vasa vasorum of occluded arteries in Buerger Disease. Seen in the extremities.
  • Corkscrew elongation of the ulnar artery: Seen in hypothenar hammer syndrome. Refers to alternating areas of stenosis and ectasia of the ulnar artery (image from the AJR reference).

References

  • Hammond DC, Matloub HS, Yousif NJ, Sanger JR. The corkscrew sign in hypothenar hammer syndrome. J Hand Surg Br. 1993 Dec;18(6):767-9.
  • Molvar CA, Funaki BS. AJR teaching file: Carpenter with cold, numb fingers. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2009 Sep;193(3 Suppl):S46-8.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Dr. Amini,
    I do really like ur blog and i do respect ur commitment. Sth new i noticed in this post. The "timing" at 09:46 am. U usually post between 5 & 6.

    Anyways, interesting post one corkscrews in radiology. I have compiled sth similar on "nutcrackers in radiology". There are three of them. Can u guess it?

    Best regards,
    A. Aljefri

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dr. Aljefri,

    Thanks for reading the blog and your kind comments. I got a late start on Thursday and had to post from work. It happens from time to time :)

    Thanks also for your nutcracker challenge. Here's what I came up with:

    Nutcracker syndrome: Left renal vein entrapment between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta, possibly with contribution from the third part of the duodenum.

    Nutcracker fracture: Cuboid fracture with an associated avulsion fracture of the tarsal navicular.

    Nutcracker esophagus: Esophageal motility disorder. Primarily a manometric
    diagnosis characterized by normal primary peristalsis with distal contractions of higher amplitude and of increased duration.

    ReplyDelete

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