LITMIR.BIZ

1 How to Use This Book

INTRODUCTION

      This book has been written with the intention of providing a step‐by‐step explanation of the most common examinations currently carried out using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is divided into two parts.

      Part 1 contains reviews or summaries of those theoretical and practical concepts that are frequently discussed in Part 2. These are:

      These summaries are not intended to be comprehensive but contain only a brief description of definitions and uses. For a more detailed discussion of these and other concepts, the reader is referred to MRI physics books. MRI in Practice by C. Westbrook and J. Talbot (Wiley Blackwell, 2019, fifth edition) is a particularly useful companion to this book.

      Part 2 is divided into the following examination areas:

      Each anatomical region is subdivided into separate examinations. For example, the section entitled Head and neck includes explanations on imaging the brain, temporal lobes, pituitary fossa, and so on. Under each examination, the following categories are described:

COMMON INDICATIONS

      These are the most usual reasons for scanning each area, although occasionally some rarer indications are included.

BASIC ANATOMY

      Simple anatomical diagrams are provided for most examination areas to assist the reader.

EQUIPMENT

      This contains a list of the equipment required for each examination and includes coil type, gating leads, bellows and immobilization devices. The correct use of gating and RC is discussed in Part 1 (see Gating and respiratory compensation techniques). The coil types described are the most common currently available. These are as follows.