MediAI

  A 30-Year-Old Woman with Abdominal Pain: Why MRI Can Be an Important Imaging Option When a young woman presents with acute abdominal pain, selecting the appropriate imaging examination requires more than simply asking which modality provides the highest diagnostic accuracy. The clinical context matters. When serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) is elevated, pregnancy or early pregnancy-related conditions must be considered. At the same time, the radiologist must evaluate a broad range of gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and gynecologic disorders that may produce overlapping symptoms. This case illustrates the diagnostic value of MRI in a woman in her 30s who presented with right upper abdominal and left-sided abdominal pain radiating toward the lower back. Her serum β-hCG level was elevated, and she had a history of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. MRI demonstrated focal circumferential wall thickening involving the mid descending colon, accompanied by increased T2 signal an...

Executive Clinical Summary A man in his early 70s presented with progressive dyspnea and cough. He had a long history of heavy cigarette smoking, reported as approximately one to two packs per day. A chest radiograph demonstrated an abnormal opacity in the right hemithorax, prompting non-contrast chest CT. CT revealed a tumor-like soft-tissue lesion in the right middle lobe accompanied by prominent emphysematous bullous change. Biopsy subsequently confirmed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The diagnostic significance of this case extends beyond the identification of a lung mass. The radiologist must interpret the lesion within the context of the entire lung: smoking exposure, emphysema, airway anatomy, adjacent vessels, pleura, lymph nodes, and interval change on previous imaging. A new mass in an emphysematous lung should not be dismissed as another manifestation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The clinical pathway can be summarized as: Clinical suspicion → Chest imaging ...