Radiology, Vol 160, 113-117, Copyright © 1986 by Radiological Society of North America
Acute renal rejection versus acute tubular necrosis in a canine model: MR evaluation
KS Rholl, JK Lee, D Ling, GA Sicard, RC Griffith and M Freeman
Findings of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in acute renal rejection and
acute tubular necrosis (ATN) were studied in dogs. On T1-weighted images,
corticomedullary differentiation was absent in kidneys undergoing acute
rejection. The loss of corticomedullary differentiation in these kidneys
was secondary to a decrease in the relative signal intensity of the cortex,
indicating prolongation of the T1 relaxation time of the cortex. In
contrast, corticomedullary differentiation was preserved on T1-weighted
images of autotransplanted kidneys and kidneys with ATN. MR imaging
findings correlated with changes in water content in these three groups of
kidneys. Kidneys undergoing acute rejection showed a marked increase in
water content compared with kidneys in the other two groups. No change in
fat content was found in any group.
