CT evaluation of benign gastric lesions

Recently the use of water as an oral contrast medium has been recommended, particularly together with intravenous contrast enhancement. The enhancing gastric wall and adjacent low-attenuation water emphasize any abnormality. The use of air as a contrast medium is necessary for evaluation of gastric tumours using 3 D reconstruction. Three-dimensional CT and virtual endoscopy are helpful imaging tools in identifying the intraluminal component of the gastric lesion, although accurate evaluation requires conventional endoscopy. The radiology images of many gastric tumours overlap and their differentiation is difficult; some of them have characteristic CT features that may suggest the diagnosis, but generally, most have no specific CT features.