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Multiple Choice

A simple liver cyst is best described as which of the following?

On ultrasound, a simple liver cyst is a fluid-filled cavity with a thin, smooth wall and no internal echoes, i.e., it is anechoic. The fluid content produces posterior acoustic enhancement, and there are no septations or solid components. These features distinguish it from complex cysts (which have internal walls or septations), solid lesions (which lack true fluid and may show vascularity), or cysts with calcifications (which suggest a more suspicious or complicated process). This combination—thin-walled, anechoic, without septations—best describes a simple hepatic cyst.

On ultrasound, a simple liver cyst is a fluid-filled cavity with a thin, smooth wall and no internal echoes, i.e., it is anechoic. The fluid content produces posterior acoustic enhancement, and there are no septations or solid components. These features distinguish it from complex cysts (which have internal walls or septations), solid lesions (which lack true fluid and may show vascularity), or cysts with calcifications (which suggest a more suspicious or complicated process). This combination—thin-walled, anechoic, without septations—best describes a simple hepatic cyst.