Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2020; 24(04): 375-385
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1708824
Review Article

Quantitative Imaging of Body Composition

1   Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
,
2   Division of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
,
2   Division of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
› Author Affiliations
Funding Martin Torriani was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health Nutrition and Obesity Research Center at Harvard (P30 DK040561).

Abstract

Body composition refers to the amount and distribution of lean tissue, adipose tissue, and bone in the human body. Lean tissue primarily consists of skeletal muscle; adipose tissue comprises mostly abdominal visceral adipose tissue and abdominal and nonabdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue. Hepatocellular and myocellular lipids are also fat pools with important metabolic implications. Importantly, body composition reflects generalized processes such as increased adiposity in obesity and age-related loss of muscle mass known as sarcopenia.

In recent years, body composition has been extensively studied quantitatively to predict overall health. Multiple imaging methods have allowed precise estimates of tissue types and provided insights showing the relationship of body composition to varied pathologic conditions. In this review article, we discuss different imaging methods used to quantify body composition and describe important anatomical locations where target tissues can be measured.



Publication History

Article published online:
29 September 2020

© 2020. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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