[Unconventional imaging techniques in inflammatory bowel diseases].

In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), radiologic examinations are important for diagnosis and treatment. With conventional X-ray examinations, mucosal abnormalities, ulcers and fistulas can be visualised, but no information on the extramural extension of the disease can be obtained. Newer radiologic modalities (ultrasound, CT and MRI) offer new diagnostic possibilities. With ultrasound IBD can be diagnosed with good confidence and it can differentiate between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. CT and MRI are indicated not so much to diagnose the disease but rather to determine the severity and spread of disease activity (transmural and extramural inflammation) and to detect complications such as fistulas and abscesses.