Hepatic steatosis (fatty liver)
Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated
Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →
In plain language
Extra fat in the liver, seen as the liver appearing different in density. It is common and often improves with lifestyle changes. Your doctor interprets its significance.
Where you’ll see this
This wording turns up on Abdominal CT reports — CT imaging of the abdomen. An abdominal CT shows the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, bowel, blood vessels, and lymph nodes in fine detail. Doctors order it for abdominal pain, to look into a suspected stone, infection, or blockage, or to check known findings. Because it is so detailed, it often notes small, harmless things by chance. The report describes what the images show; your doctor reads it together with your symptoms and other results.
It also appears on Abdominal Ultrasound.
Questions worth asking your doctor
- What was the main reason for this CT, and did it answer that question?
- Were any findings incidental, and do any of them need follow-up?
- If a stone or cyst was seen, does it need treatment or monitoring?
- Do the results change my current care or medications?
- Is there anything I can do about findings like fatty liver?
Other words on the same report
See this word on your own scan
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