A large magnet surrounds your body and radio waves send images to a computer.
The MRI machine “sees” right through bone to look closely
at your soft tissue. MRI does not use any radiation to make your pictures.
When thinking about how an MRI scan works, think of a loaf of bread and
the many slices in it. An MRI takes a section of a body part, “slices”
it and takes hundreds of pictures of the different slices. Depending on
the type of test you are having and your person health history, you may
be given an injection of contrast through a vein in your arm. The contrast
helps us to look at certain structures in more detail on your pictures.
Preparation
If you are having a MRI of your abdomen, you should refrain from eating
or drinking for four hours prior to your appointment. MRI tests cannot
be performed if you have a pacemaker or certain types of metal in your body.
Call our Diagnostic Imaging or scheduling department if you have any questions:
Joints (tendons, cartilage, ligaments, bone marrow)
Cancer
Note: The imaging staff is trained to acquire images for a radiologist to review.
The radiologist is specially trained to look at x-ray studies and make
a diagnosis
off of them. The imaging staff is not fully trained to do so, therefore
we will not
be able to give you results at the time of your exam.
