Nontumorous perfusion defects in the liver detected by computed tomographic arterial portography

In order to evaluate the variable features of perfusion defects in liver parenchyma through computed tomographic arterial portography (CTAP), we collected 88 cases from July 1991 to March 1996. Thirty wedge-shaped filling defects were found in twenty-eight cases. Among them, 18 lesions were lobar or segmental. The major causes of the filling defects were portal vein (PV) invasions or thromboses (10), laminar flows (11), and arterioportal (AP) shunts (8). Nine patients had diffuse and mottled filling defects. Seven of them had liver cirrhosis. We correlated the perfusion defects with the underlying causes and hoped to understand more about the pathologic and physiologic process reflected by CTAP.