Magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Noninvasive imaging modalities may suggest the diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome but they are rarely diagnostic. Inferior vena cavography, hepatic venography, and liver biopsy, alone or in combination, are usually necessary for definitive diagnosis. Because of its excellent depiction of blood vessels as regions of absent signal, magnetic resonance imaging has the potential to make a noninvasive diagnosis of hepatic vein thrombosis. A case illustrating the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of Budd-Chiari syndrome is presented.