Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an instrumental method of diagnosis, thanks to which the doctor gets the opportunity to examine almost any human organ in layers. A special device using a magnetic field and radio waves causes a temporary response from water molecules in the body and reads the signals they send, creating an image of the systems on the computer screen. MRI allows to determine pathology even at the earliest stages, including in complexly located organs (for example, covered with bones), sometimes inaccessible to other methods of examination.

Examination area

With the help of MRI the following diagnostics can be performed:

• MRI of the brain and neck. It allows to determine circulatory disorders in the vascular bed of the cerebral arteries, abnormalities of vascular development (aneurysms, dilations), tumor and inflammatory process, to assess the consequences of traumatic brain injuries.
• MRI of the spine. With the help of a tomograph, you can examine any part of the spinal column, assess the degree of its curvature (lordosis, kyphosis, scoliosis), study the condition of the intervertebral discs, the processes of degeneration, protrusion and compression of the spinal cord occurring in them.
• MRI angiography. A separate method of investigation, which involves assessing the condition of blood vessels and vascular walls, searching for blockages, thrombosis and atherosclerotic changes. It can be carried out in any area but is most often used to study the vessels of the brain.
• MRI of the joints. With any degenerative process in the articular bag or cartilage tissue, the condition of the joint can be assessed using MRI diagnostics. This is usually done to clarify a complex case when the results of other diagnostic methods remain uncertain.
• MRI of the abdominal cavity. It helps to detect pathologies in organs that are quite difficult to diagnose: the spleen, pancreas, liver and intestines. Some of them are covered with ribs, and some are not visualized due to the gases of the gastrointestinal tract, so sometimes violations cannot be determined with a more common ultrasound examination.
• MRI cholangiography. It makes it possible to assess the patency of the bile ducts from the bile duct to the intrahepatic sections noninvasively and safely for the patient if they are suspected of blockage. Detects stones, polyps, strictures and tumors.
• MRI of the pelvic organs. With burdened heredity or alarming symptoms in women, it is possible to conduct this diagnosis, with the help of which disorders are detected both in the uterus and in the ovaries and fallopian tubes: adhesions, tumors, endometriosis, polyps.

Due to the high level of detail with the help of MRI, it is possible to diagnose:

• disorders of the white and gray matter of the brain (demyelination, degenerative processes);
• abnormalities of vascular development (aneurysms, stenoses);
• pathology of the temporomandibular joint;
• benign and malignant neoplasms, metastases;
• kidney stone disease and gallstone disease;
• injuries;
• diseases of joints and bone tissue (arthritis, osteochondrosis).

Advantages and disadvantages

The long-term experience of MRI diagnostics is determined primarily by the presence of obvious advantages over other types of research:

• obtaining three-dimensional images in any plane;
• detailed visualization, high-quality and informative images with high resolution;
• complete harmlessness – the magnetic field created in the device does not carry a radiation load;
• painlessness and non-invasiveness;
• the ability to assess the condition of organs and systems almost immediately after the examination;
• minimum list of contraindications.

The disadvantages of MRI diagnostics include the following:

• the impossibility of conducting a study if the patient has fixed metal structures installed (due to the creation of a magnetic field);
• higher cost;
• the need for prolonged immobility;
• restrictions on the patient's height and weight;
• the study is also not carried out in the first trimester of pregnancy for the safety of the fetus, although at the moment no confirmed negative effects have been identified.