Management of Masses: BI-RADS 2, 3, or 4?
Always a rush in the morning. Time to fix lunch for the kids. Did we go grocery shopping this week? Those grapes don’t look so hot. I think they’ve been…
The Recalled Patient: Now What?
Let’s see. A screening recall. Is it a real finding? It looks kind of ugly on the screening views. The mediolateral oblique (MLO) spot looks fine, but the craniocaudal (CC)…
Mammographic Asymmetries
Almost lunchtime. Need to finish the screening board first. Could that little area on the left craniocaudal (CC) be new? I don’t see anything on the mediolateral oblique (MLO). I’ll…
Architectural Distortion
A radiologist friend from another city called one day and asked for a review of his wife’s mammogram. She had been recalled from screening, told that the findings were probably…
Multiple Masses
Multiple masses. Sigh. Do you hate these? Take a deep breath and lean into it. These masses are really not that hard to assess. They are almost always benign, BI-RADS…
Screening Mammography 101 and Beyond
You get on the elevator. The woman in the elevator smiles at you. The door closes. She clears her throat and says, “I know you don’t remember me, but you…
Physics Facts That WILL Improve Your Images
Many readers will skip this chapter. Don’t be one of them. Most of us learned physics in order to pass boards, but we never really made the leap to understanding…
The First Question
The first question that a radiologist should consider when interpreting any study is, “Is this an adequate study?” That topic encompasses many points in breast imaging: • Is this the…
Osteomyelitis and Discitis (Spondylodiscitis)
Clinical Presentation The patient is a 39-year-old otherwise healthy woman who developed a papulopustular skin eruption/infection attributed to MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ). One month later, she developed pleuritic chest…
Neurofibromatosis
Clinical Presentation The patient is a 21-year-old man who has had neurologic symptoms for about 2 years. Initially, he had trouble holding a pen in the right hand. Over time,…
