What is a heterogeneous mass in liver?

What is a heterogeneous mass in liver?

Benign tumors of the liver are a heterogeneous group of lesions whose detection has greatly increased because of the widespread use of imaging techniques. Only a few types, such as cavernous hemangiomas, focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), hepatic adenoma (HA), and cysts, are frequent enough to be of clinical importance.

What is an echogenic mass in the liver?

A hyperechoic liver lesion on ultrasound can arise from a number of entities, both benign and malignant. A benign hepatic hemangioma is the most common entity encountered, but in patients with atypical findings or risk for malignancy, other entities must be considered.

What is a hepatic lobe mass?

A liver hemangioma (he-man-jee-O-muh) is a noncancerous (benign) mass in the liver made up of a tangle of blood vessels. Also known as hepatic hemangiomas or cavernous hemangiomas, these liver masses are common and are estimated to occur in up to 20% of the population.

What does it mean when you have a mass on your liver?

Liver lesions are groups of abnormal cells in your liver. Your doctor may call them a mass or a tumor. Noncancerous, or benign, liver lesions are common. They don’t spread to other areas of your body and don’t usually cause any health issues.

What causes heterogeneous liver?

The most common cause of hyperechogenic liver (increased liver echogenicity compared with the renal cortex) in routine practice is steatosis, otherwise known as “fatty liver”. This can be either diffuse or focal.

What does it mean if a mass is echogenic?

An echogenic mass was defined as a well-circumscribed mass, often with a lobulated appearance and calcifications, without any fluid components.

Can a heterogeneous mass be benign?

Soft tissue tumors are a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant lesions that develop from various nonepithelial, extraskeletal elements, including adipose tissue, smooth and skeletal muscle, tendon, cartilage, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, and lymphatic structures.

What are heterogeneous diseases?

A heterogeneous medical condition or heterogeneous disease is a medical term referring to a medical condition with several etiologies (root causes), such as hepatitis or diabetes.

What is the cause of heterogeneous liver masses?

These masses may be benign genetic differences or a result of liver disease. In most cases, a finding of heterogeneous liver is followed by further medical testing to determine the cause of the heterogeneity. A heterogeneous liver can be caused by fatty liver disease, tumors or cirrhosis.

Can a benign hypoechoic mass occur in the liver?

More than 20 percent of adults have a benign liver hypoechoic mass. They can occur in a healthy liver and may not cause symptoms. Some benign types are: A cluster of hypoechoic masses in the liver may be caused by cancer that has spread from another part of the body.

What causes hyperechogenicity in a liver lesion 2?

The presence of hyperechogenicity can be a result of fat within a liver lesion 2, although some non-fat-containing lesions may also be echogenic (e.g. hepatic hemangioma).

What does increased liver echogenicity at ultrasound mean?

Increased liver echogenicity at ultrasound examination reflects degree of steatosis but not of fibrosis in asymptomatic patients with mild/moderate abnormalities of liver transaminases Dig Liver Dis. 2002 Jul;34(7):516-22.doi: 10.1016/s1590-8658(02)80111-6.