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Morphology of the Esophagus

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Dysphagia

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Barium esophagography is an invaluable radiologic technique for detecting a host of morphologic abnormalities in the esophagus. Double-contrast barium studies are particularly well suited for diagnosing reflux esophagitis and its complications, including peptic strictures and Barrett’s esophagus. Double-contrast esophagography is also useful for detecting infectious esophagitis and for differentiating the underlying causes, including Candida albicans, the herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, and human immunodeficiency virus. Barium studies can also facilitate the diagnosis of drug-induced esophagitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and other less common forms of esophagitis. In patients with dysphagia, barium esophagography is a sensitive test for detecting the two common malignant tumors of the esophagus—squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Finally, esophagography can be used to diagnose other morphologic abnormalities in the esophagus, including webs, rings, diverticula, varices, foreign body impactions, fistulas, and perforation. All of these conditions are discussed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Marc S. Levine

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  1. Marc S. Levine
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Correspondence to Marc S. Levine .

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  1. Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Department of Medical Imaging and Physiology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

    Olle Ekberg

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Levine, M.S. (2017). Morphology of the Esophagus. In: Ekberg, O. (eds) Dysphagia. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2017_117

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