Misty Mesentery Sign and Fat Halo Sign

Abstract

Any inflammatory and proliferative process involving mesenteric tissues leads to increase in the density of the fatty tissue – the “misty mesentery” sign. The most probable idiopathic variant is mesenteric panniculitis (sclerosing mesenteritis). In addition to the “misty mesentery,” the specific feature of mesenteric panniculitis must be defined as the rim of normal fatty density around mesenteric vessels – the “fat halo” sign (∆). Unlike liposarcomas the mass effect is absent. In differential diagnostics in the presence of the “misty mesentery” sign, it is necessary to consider hypoalbuminemia, cirrhosis, lymphedema, pancreatitis, tuberculosis, bleeding, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cholelithiasis, peptic ulcer and carcinoma of the stomach, blunt abdominal trauma, autoimmune diseases, and so forth.

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Any inflammatory and proliferative process involving mesenteric tissues leads to increase in the density of the fatty tissue – the “misty mesentery” sign (↑). The most probable idiopathic variant is mesenteric panniculitis (sclerosing mesenteritis). In addition to the “misty mesentery,” the specific feature of mesenteric panniculitis must be defined as the rim of normal fatty density around mesenteric vessels – the “fat halo” sign (∆). Unlike liposarcomas the mass effect is absent. In differential diagnostics in the presence of the “misty mesentery” sign, it is necessary to consider hypoalbuminemia, cirrhosis, lymphedema, pancreatitis, tuberculosis, bleeding, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cholelithiasis, peptic ulcer and carcinoma of the stomach, blunt abdominal trauma, autoimmune diseases, and so forth.