Not all Aneurysms are Created Equal

Background:

Visceral and non-visceral abdominal aneurysms represent a vast array of congenital and acquired pathologies. Diagnostic classification of aneurysm types based on etiology, location, dynamic change, and underlying disease states plays a vital role in treatment decisions. This review is intended to serve as a primer for the Abdominal Radiologist with focus on image based clinical decision making.

Methods:

10 different aneurysm types will be presented representing vastly different etiologies and clinical sequelae. International guidelines based recommendations for treatment with representative pictorial examples will be presented.

Results:

Review will demonstrate a variety of visceral and non-visceral aneurysm types that the Abdominal Radiologist should be familiar with in order to guide proper treatment. Aneurysm type and location is often a marker of more widespread systemic disease that required further evaluation.

Conclusions:

Proper classification of abdominal aneurysms is essential to guiding appropriate treatment and often heralds a broader systemic diagnosis.