ABSTRACT
Diseases that affect the thoracic aorta are commonly associ-
ated with high rates of mortality, with many requiring some
form of immediate surgical intervention. Understandably,
there is a critical need for establishing an immediate and
accurate clinical diagnosis of suspected aortic disease at the
time of presentation. There are several modalities that can
be used in the radiographic evaluation of the thoracic aorta,
namely angiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MR),
and computed tomography (CT). Deciding which one to
use, however, largely depends on a host of factors dependent
upon the scenario and clinical suspicion as well as availabil-
ity, convenience, patient stability, and of course total exam
time. For example, angiography, long considered to be the
gold standard in aortic imaging, appears to be best suited in
the setting of trauma, but is invasive, potentially inconven-
ient, and lengthy, which may delay definitive treatment.
