Assessment of liver regeneration by quantitative MRI analysis.

Liver regeneration after an extensive liver resection is a serious clinical problem, which is difficult to study in detail on patients. Therefore animal models were developed to study liver regeneration. Anabolic processes in the liver were assessed by measurements of the cholinesterase synthesis, and the regeneration of liver mass was monitored by use of magnetic resonance imaging. It has been shown that the liver mass reaches 90% of the control within the first week after the resection of 75% of the liver. This is partly due to the regeneration, and partly to the increased water content of the regenerated liver, shown by the magnetic resonance images. The results allow the conclusion that the magnetic resonance imaging is a reliable method to assess liver regeneration in vivo.