Adenomyomatosis

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For the uterine condition, see Adenomyosis.
Adenomyomatosis
Micrograph showing Rokitansky–Aschoff sinus. H&E stain.

Adenomyomatosis is a benign condition characterized by hyperplastic changes of unknown cause involving the wall of the gallbladder.[1] Adenomyomatosis is caused by an overgrowth of the mucosa, thickening of the muscular wall, and formation of intramural diverticula or sinus tracts termed Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses, also called entrapped epithelial crypts.[citation needed]

Pathophysiology

Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder as seen on ultrasound[2]
abdominal ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder:[3]

a The fundus of the gallbladder wall was thickened and the GB wall was obscure.
b The intramural echogenic foci were detected by high frequency transducer.
c CEUS—arterial phase (22 s) —heterogeneous hyper-enhancement and wall was intact.
d CEUS—venous phase (34 s) the anechoic spaces were more clear.

Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses

Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses are pseudodiverticula or pockets in the wall of the

mucosa into the gallbladder muscle layer and subserosal tissue as a result of hyperplasia and herniation of epithelial cells through the fibromuscular layer of the gallbladder wall.[4]

Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses are not of themselves considered abnormal but they can be associated with cholecystitis.[5]

They form as a result of increased pressure in the gallbladder and recurrent damage to the wall of the gallbladder.[6]

Associations

Black pigment gallstones can form in Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses of the gallbladder after the fourth to fifth decades of life in absence of the typical risk factors for bilirubin supersaturation of bile.

cholelithiasis). Cases of gall bladder cancer have also been reported to arise from Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses.[7]

Diagnosis

Abdominal ultrasound has low accuracy in differentiating gall bladder adenomyomatosis from cancer and is operator dependent. However, it is used as the exam of the first-line due to its wide availability. Ultrasound findings may show thickened gall bladder wall, tiny anechoic spaces (Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses or RAS), and twinkling artifact (or comet-tail reverberation). Comet tail reverberation, which is due to reflections from cholesterol crystals, is a highly specific sign for adenomyomatosis.[8]

On CT scan, it may show rosary sign, showing mucosal epithelium with intramural diverticula.[8]

fat-suppression MRI, RAS present with small, rounded, high signal intensity foci, called “pearl necklace sign”.[8]

Eponym

Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses are named after

Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky (1804–1878), a pathologist in Vienna, Austria and Ludwig Aschoff (1866–1942), a pathologist in Bonn, Germany.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. PMID 1154265
    .
  2. ^ "UOTW#79 - Ultrasound of the Week". Ultrasound of the Week. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  3. PMID 26239485
    .
  4. ^
    S2CID 25219550
    .
  5. PMID 17242260
    .
  6. S2CID 42685012
    .
  7. PMID 19884193
    .
  8. ^
    PMID 29791592
    .
  9. PMID 10350285
    .
  10. Who Named It?
  11. PMID 16549610
    .

External links
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