ABR key terms

A standardized reporting system for breast imaging that assigns a final category from 0 to 6, conveying the likelihood of malignancy and the recommended next step in management.

A breast imaging finding in which normal tissue planes are retracted or spiculated without a central mass, often representing an invasive cancer or a radial scar.

Three-dimensional mammography that acquires multiple low-dose projections through the breast and reconstructs thin slices, reducing tissue overlap that can hide or mimic lesions.

A CT-derived number quantifying coronary artery calcium, calculated from calcified plaque area and density, used to refine cardiovascular risk assessment in selected patients.

A cardiac MRI technique using inversion-recovery sequences after gadolinium to depict myocardial scar or fibrosis as bright signal, helping distinguish ischemic from nonischemic disease.

A system for aortic dissection: type A involves the ascending aorta regardless of entry tear location, while type B spares the ascending aorta.

A standardized CT and MRI reporting system for liver observations in patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, assigning categories that estimate malignancy risk and guide management.

Gas within the bowel wall, seen as linear or bubbly lucencies, which may indicate ischemia, infection, or a benign process depending on clinical context.

A contrast-enhanced CT phase acquired about 60 to 80 seconds after injection, when hepatic portal veins and liver parenchyma enhance, improving detection of liver lesions.

A standardized scoring system for prostate MRI that grades lesions from 1 to 5 based on likelihood of clinically significant cancer, guiding biopsy decisions.

A CT and MRI categorization of cystic renal masses from I to IV based on wall thickness, septations, calcification, and enhancement, estimating malignancy risk.

Dilatation of the renal collecting system and ureter, usually from obstruction, visualized as fluid-filled branching structures within the kidney on ultrasound or CT.

A method of obtaining vascular access by puncturing a vessel with a needle, passing a guidewire, removing the needle, and then advancing a catheter over the wire.

A percutaneously created connection between the hepatic vein and portal vein through the liver, reducing portal pressure in variceal bleeding or refractory ascites.

Catheter-directed delivery of yttrium-90 microspheres into hepatic arteries supplying tumor, producing localized radiation while sparing most normal liver tissue.

Increased water content in marrow, appearing dark on T1-weighted and bright on fluid-sensitive MRI sequences, caused by trauma, infection, tumor, or stress reaction.

A classification of pediatric physeal fractures based on which bone and physeal layers are involved, predicting the risk of growth disturbance.

A piece of dead bone separated from surrounding viable bone, often seen in osteomyelitis as a dense fragment on CT or MRI.

A 10-point CT scoring system for middle cerebral artery territory ischemia, subtracting one point for each affected region; lower scores predict worse outcome.

An MRI map calculated from diffusion-weighted images that quantifies water diffusion; low values indicate restricted diffusion in acute infarction, abscess, or highly cellular tumor.

Thickening and enhancement of dura adjacent to an extra-axial mass, most often a meningioma but also seen with other tumors or inflammation.

A fibrosing disorder of skin and organs associated with gadolinium-based contrast in patients with severe renal impairment; risk varies by agent and dose.

A radiation quantity in sieverts that estimates stochastic risk to the whole body from a partial or nonuniform exposure, used for comparing imaging studies.

A quality assurance process in which radiologists review a sample of colleagues' reports and images, classifying discrepancies to identify learning and system improvement opportunities.

A semiquantitative PET measure of radiotracer accumulation in tissue normalized to body size and injected dose, used to characterize lesions and assess response.

A nuclear study comparing inhaled radioactive gas distribution with intravenous radiotracer perfusion in the lungs, used to diagnose pulmonary embolism.

The first lymph node draining a tumor, identified with radiotracer or dye, whose biopsy stages regional nodal involvement in breast cancer and melanoma.

A radiographic appearance of two gas-filled structures in the upper abdomen from a distended stomach and duodenum, classic for duodenal atresia.

An acquired intestinal inflammatory disease of premature infants, with pneumatosis, portal venous gas, and perforation on radiographs; severity guides management.

Bleeding in the subependymal germinal matrix of premature infants, detected by cranial ultrasound and graded by extent of ventricular involvement and parenchymal injury.

Small centrilobular nodules connected to branching linear opacities on CT, reflecting bronchiolar impaction with mucus, pus, or tumor, often from infection.

Clustered subpleural cystic spaces with thick walls on CT, a hallmark of usual interstitial pneumonia and a key feature of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Guidelines for follow-up and management of incidentally detected pulmonary nodules on CT, based on nodule size, morphology, and patient risk.

A Doppler-derived value calculated as peak systolic velocity minus end-diastolic velocity, divided by peak systolic velocity, reflecting downstream vascular resistance.

Reduced sound transmission deep to a strongly reflecting or absorbing structure, producing a dark band that helps identify calcifications, stones, or bone.

A rapidly alternating color Doppler signal behind a rough calcification, useful for detecting small stones although it does not represent true flow.