Advancements in computed tomography (CT) technology allow scanning of the entire abdomen in a very short period of time, enabling images to be obtained in multiple phases of IV contrast enhancement which optimizes the detection and diagnosis of pathology. PO contrast agents, including neutral agents, such as water, or commercially available volume enhancing agents may be used to visualize the bowel wall, while positive agents such as iodine or barium suspensions may be used to help differentiate small bowel loops from adjacent structures. Finally, volumetric CT dataset acquisitions allow reformatting of images in various planes or even in three dimensions to aid in visualization of pathology.

The images shown in this chapter relate to the gastrointestinal tract (Figures 89.1–89.14); the liver (Figures 89.15–89.18); the pancreas (Figures 89.19–89.23); the biliary tract (Figure 89.24); the peritoneum (Figure 89.25); and hernias (Figure 89.26).