Soft tissue calcifications: a pictorial essay
Luisa Leitão de Faria, Fernanda Babler, Lorena Carneiro Ferreira, Ozeas Alves de Noronha, Felipe Lorenzo Marsolla, Dalton Libânio Ferreira
Abstract
Soft-tissue calcifications are extremely common. Because the imaging findings are nonspecific, soft-tissue calcifications are often problematic for radiologists, sometimes prompting unnecessary interventions. In addition, the nomenclature is quite confusing. Classically, soft-tissue calcifications are divided into four categories, by mechanism of formation-dystrophic, iatrogenic, metastatic, and idiopathic-depending on the clinical and biochemical correlation. However, it is also possible to classify such calcifications by compartment, and that classification can be quite useful in the radiological diagnostic assessment. In this article, we illustrate the main causes of soft-tissue calcifications, organizing them according to their anatomical and pathophysiological aspects, thus narrowing the differential diagnosis.