Acute mesenteric ischaemia on unenhanced computer-tomography.

We present a 39-year old man with mesenteric ischaemia. The initial unenhanced images of the, non-oral contrast CT abdomen clearly demonstrated increased density in a significant length of the small bowel and in the veins of the adjacent mesentery. Mesenteric ischaemia is a difficult diagnosis both clinically and radiologically and we demonstrate the potential benefits of an unenhanced abdominal scan (often left out if a contrast enhanced scan is to be performed) and the omission of oral bowel contrast in emergency scans.