Classic imaging signs of congenital cardiovascular abnormalities

Cardiovascular imaging is a rapidly evolving field that requires familiarity with the appearances of pediatric and adult cardiovascular diseases on chest radiographs as well as images obtained with computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography. To accurately identify congenital abnormalities affecting the heart and vessels of the thorax, radiologists must recognize the imaging features and understand their pathophysiologic origin. The cardiovascular imaging signs of congenital anomalies that are most often seen in radiologic practice include the egg on a string (seen in transposition of the great arteries), snowman (total anomalous pulmonary venous return), scimitar (partial anomalous pulmonary venous return), gooseneck (endocardial cushion defect), figure of three and reverse figure of three (aortic coarctation), boot-shaped heart (tetralogy of Fallot), and box-shaped heart (Ebstein anomaly).