A 77-year-old presenting with abdominal pain

Mesenteric panniculitis results in a masslike area of heterogeneously increased fat attenuation (misty mesentery) on CT that may displace local bowel loops but typically does not displace the surrounding mesenteric vascular structures. Mesenteric lymph nodes are often seen within the region of mesenteric stranding. Important imaging signs include the “tumoral pseudocapsule” sign, which refers to the presence of a peripheral curvilinear band of soft-tissue attenuation limiting the heterogeneous mesenteric mass from the surrounding normal mesentery, and the “fat halo” sign, which refers to the preservation of normal fat density in the fatty tissue surrounding the mesenteric vessels. The thickness of the tumoral pseudocapsule band of soft tissue is typically not greater than 3 mm. Very rarely patients may present with acute abdominal symptoms. In this subgroup of acutely symptomatic patients, treatment with steroids or a combination of steroids and other drugs such as tamoxifen has been shown to be beneficial.