Fig. 3.

Abdominal CT images taken at the third lumbar vertebra and SAT morphological characteristics of 2 patients with cirrhosis applied for SAT radiodensity assessment.

Comparison of 2 patients (A) with low SAT radiodensity (-95 HU) and (B) with high SAT radiodensity of -58 HU. High SAT radiodensity (-30 to -82 HU) is shown in yellow, and low SAT radiodensity (-83 to -190 HU) is shown in cyan. Example images of corresponding to SAT adipocytes stained with H&E (magnification 20×) from patients with high SAT radiodensity and those with low radiodensity. (C) Larger adipocytes with higher cell cross-sectional area (2,122 ± 1,100 μm²), surrounded with a thin rim of cytoplasm whose nuclei are compressed to the peripheral rim were observed in a patient with low SAT radiodensity. (D) Shrunken, smaller, polygonal-shape adipocytes (768 ± 443 μm²) with distinct alterations in the extracellular matrix, by contrast, were predominant in a patient with high SAT radiodensity. Bar = 50 μm. CT, computed tomography; HU, Hounsfield units; SAT, subcutaneous adipose tissue.