Open AccessMagnetic Resonance Imaging of Congenital, Inflammatory, and Infectious Soft-Tissue Lesions in Children
Author(s) -
Ricardo Faingold,
Kamaldine Oudjhane,
Derek Armstrong,
Pedro Albuquerque
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
topics in magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.547
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1536-1004
pISSN - 0899-3459
DOI - 10.1097/00002142-200208000-00005
Subject(s) - magnetic resonance imaging , soft tissue , medicine , lipoatrophy , lipodystrophy , radiology , pathology , adipose tissue , edema , surgery , family medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , viral load , antiretroviral therapy
Magnetic resonance imaging has the advantages of multiplanar capability and high degree of tissue differentiation. It is useful for assessing the extent of soft-tissue abnormalities, such as vascular malformations, inflammatory and infectious processes, muscle disorders, and limb hypertrophy. Magnetic resonance imaging is sensitive to the presence of water and edema and is a good indicator for early diagnosis of inflammation and its level of activity. Fat-saturation techniques, including T2-weighted sequences and inversion recovery imaging, optimize diagnostic accuracy. T1-weighted images are good at defining the distribution and proportion of fat in the body, so they are useful in evaluating syndromes of the limbs, including vascular malformations, as well as lipoatrophy-lipodystrophy conditions. Magnetic resonance imaging provides guidance for efficient tissue biopsy. It allows comprehensive pretherapeutic assessment of soft-tissue vascular anomalies. It constitutes a good modality for following up the natural history of soft-tissue disorders during childhood.