MSCT of the Abdomen: Colon, Rectum and CT Colonography

The advent of MSCT represented a real turning point in the field of CT image acquisition and processing, particularly because of the innovative volumetric study by three-dimensional images. MSCT holds several advantages as compared with single-slice spiral CT. Indeed it allows to drastically reduce the scan time, motion artifacts (i.e., vascular pulse, breathing, peristalsis), radiation exposure, and intravenous dose of contrast medium, while yielding, at the same time, higher spatial resolution. An important application of MSCT concerns the assessment of colon. In particular, the advent and wide spread of CT colonography has resulted in a substantial favorable impact on the diagnostic approach to polypoid lesions and colorectal cancer. This chapter aims to review the most important imaging findings of CT imaging of the colon including CT-colonography and describes the current standards of acquisition techniques and image interpretation.