Selective arteriography in the diagnosis and evaluation of amebic abscess of the liver.

Hepatic selective arteriography was performed in 20 patients with an amebic hepatic abscess. In most cases, arterial hepatic vascularization showed a characteristic change in the benign space-occupying lesion. The arteriogram revealed displacement of intrahepatic arteries, with a bare area outlined by curved, narrowed, and stretched vessels. The hepatogram phase showed a different radiolucency of the liver parenchyma in the area of the amebic abscess. It is possible to differentiate between an abscess and an hepatic malignant tumor by hepatic arteriography. This technique is valuable in that it can be used to determine whether the abscess has disappeared after medical treatment.