A magnetic resonance imaging scan is a technique performed by radiologists that involves using magnetism, radio waves and computers to produce detailed images of the body’s internal structures, including tissues, muscles, arteries, bones and unusual growths. A number of patients credit the MRI scan with the discovery of an existing medical condition they never knew about. For instance, one patient at www.medicinenet.com said she experienced numbness along one side of her body after giving birth to her baby and although the doctor thought it was nothing, a medical imaging test uncovered a very large arterial venous malformation in her brain. Another patient says she discovered her leg pain was not due to an inflamed sciatic nerve, as previously thought, but to several crushed discs in her back. Thanks to this technology, doctors were better able to treat these patients.
Radiologists use the MRI technique in diagnosing and determining treatment for medical problems. Neurosurgeons use an MRI scan to evaluate brain, neck and spinal cord injury following an accident. They can find crushed discs or vertebrae and they can look for internal bleeding, swelling, rips or aneurysms. Cardiologists use the MRI to look at the heart and aorta, not to mention clogging and perforations. Diseases, tumors, unusual growths and damaged soft tissue are all evident with an MRI of the brain and body.
Magnetic resonance imaging results often clarify a patient’s condition. For instance, one patient was treated with steroids for an inflamed sciatica, but an MRI revealed that a ruptured disc caused fragments to migrate to the sacrum of the lumbar region, which required surgery to prevent further damage. A patient treated with epilepsy for years was revealed to have a different medical issue entirely — bilateral peri-ventricular nodular heterotopias, which is a migration of grey matter in the brain that can also cause seizures. A patient whose medical physicians could not diagnose her pain finally discovered she suffered from hip degeneration following an MRI. Thanks to this basic, non-invasive test, these individuals were able to receive the care they needed to recover.
After the magnetic resonance imaging is completed, the computer stores the visual images of the body parts that were scanned. These images are then transferred to film to keep a hard copy. Radiologists, a class of specially trained physicians, will then interpret the results and draw up a report for the patient’s primary practitioner. Lastly, the results are discussed with the patient and/or the family during a regular doctor visit. From there, a diagnosis will be given and treatment options will be discussed.
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