Understanding Medical Imaging: Diffusion Restriction
Jessie Z -
Good morning everyone,
My recent task has been working on formatting the MR images so that the paper is publication ready. It has been a very tedious process as some journals don’t accept case series and all journals have rather specific requirements. For this post, I will elaborate more on the terminology I see in regards to diagnosing Bartholin gland hyperplasia.
I find the concept of diffusion restriction to be particularly fascinating. In the context of medical imaging, diffusion restriction refers to a reduced ability of water molecules to move freely within a tissue. This indicates a high cellular density or other tissue abnormalities. More specifically, restricted diffusion is generally considered to be associated with malignant tumors because of the high cellularity of these tumors. Dr. Tan explained it to me by drawing comparisons between a tapioca boba pearl and a sponge. For those who like drinking milk tea with boba, you can tell that the tea doesn’t really enter the boba since it has a dense and firm texture. In this case, the boba represents a cancerous tumor, with the water molecules being unable to move freely within the tissue. On the other hand, a sponge allows free movement of water molecules and thus no diffusion restriction.
MRI of BGH doesn’t demonstrate diffusion restriction. Therefore, radiologists can conclude that the nodules are benign lesions. Throughout medical literature, BGH has never been shown to have malignant transformation either. For this reason, Dr. Tan doesn’t recommend treatment (surgical excision) for asymptomatic patients.
I hope you’ve learned a bit more about how physicians provide accurate diagnoses with imaging modalities. See you next time for more explanations on radiologic terminology!
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