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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues within your body.
Most MRI machines are large, tube-shaped magnets. When you lie inside an MRI machine, the magnetic field temporarily aligns all the water molecules in your body. Radio waves cause these aligned particles to produce very faint signals, which are used to create cross-sectional MRI images — like slices in a loaf of bread.
The MRI machine can combine these slices to produce 3-D images that may be viewed from many different angles.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- Safety: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safety/index.cfm?pg=sfty_mr&bhcp=1. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- MRI of the head. American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=headmr. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- Cardiac MRI. American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=cardiacmr. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- MR angiography (MRA). American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=angiomr. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- MRI of the body (chest, abdomen, pelvis). American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=bodymr&bhcp=1. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- MRI of the musculoskeletal system. American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=muscmr. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- MRI of the breast. American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=breastmr. Accessed Sept. 11, 2008.
- Welker K (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 26, 2008.
- Functional MR imaging (fMRI) - Brain. American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?PG=fmribrain&bhcp=1. Accessed Sept. 29, 2008.
