The Urinary Tract
摘要
Urinary tract pathologies are a common occurrence in daily clinical practice. Imaging is frequently needed to elucidate the anatomical and pathological findings for the management of patients with upper and lower urinary tract problems. The imaging study which sets the ball rolling is an ultrasound of the urinary tract. Plain X-ray of the Kidney, Ureter and Bladder region (KUB) and Intravenous Urography (IVU) are not as frequently requested as were in the previous decades. If ultrasound is unable to provide any clues or if further investigation is needed, it is usually a CT scan of the urinary tract, both without and with the intravenous administration of iodinated non-ionic contrast medium which is advised, based on the clinical suspicion. If the patient is allergic to iodinated contrast medium or if it is a pregnant woman or a child with some congnital anomaly, then MR urography can be performed. For the evaluation of the lower urinary tract, contrast studies are very much needed and their value is unlikely to diminish any time soon. In this chapter, we will consider all investigations which are in use in the evaluation of the various regions of the urinary tract.