ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance was developed as an imaging technique in the early 1970s. Its non-ionizing characteristic makes it ideal for detailed study of anatomical structures.
Present techniques in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can display:
● Chemical differences between tissues as changes in a gray-scale image (tumor pathology)
● Blood flow as a high intensity image of vessels either in thin slices or 3-D images
● Axial, coronal, saggital, and oblique images from a complete 3-D voxel data set (head)
Fast imaging techniques have been developed so that organ movement (cardiac, respiration) can be effectively frozen giving sharp pictures of the heart and abdomen. Fast data collection has enabled clinically routine 3-D imaging for investigating cranial anatomy and vascular pathways (magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)).
