Cardiac Anatomy Using MR

Published on 13/02/2015 by admin

Filed under Cardiothoracic Surgery

Last modified 22/04/2025

Print this page

rate 1 star rate 2 star rate 3 star rate 4 star rate 5 star
Your rating: none, Average: 3.2 (26 votes)

This article have been viewed 3675 times

Chapter 9

Cardiac Anatomy Using MR

Cardiac MR Axial 5

image

Technical Consideration

These two MR images illustrate two of the many MR techniques used to examine the thoracic and cardiovascular system: “black blood” and “white blood” imaging techniques, named for the appearance of flowing blood on the image. There are a number of ways in which “black blood” images may be created, but these techniques have in common the lack of significant signal associated with flowing blood—hence, the vessels and cardiac chambers appear black. “White blood” sequences are often used for functional analysis and, although the bright signal within the vessels and cardiac chambers gives the impression that intravenous contrast has been injected, these imaging sequences do not require the use of intravenous contrast to generate signal within the vascular system.

image

image

Cardiac MR Axial 14

image

Diagnostic Consideration

Right ventricular anatomy with MR is shown. Cardiac CT requires the injection of iodinated contrast material to opacify the cardiac chambers and vessels to allow adequate visualization of these structures, but dense contrast within the right atrium and ventricle can often obscure adjacent anatomy, such as the right coronary artery, on CT. For this reason, cardiac CT examinations are often conducted with an injection of saline or saline-contrast mixtures following the injection of undiluted iodinated contrast to clear the dense contrast from the right cardiac chambers. Although this technique results in excellent imaging for left-sided cardiac structures and the right coronary artery, it may result in suboptimal visualization of right chamber anatomy (see Cardiac CTA plates). However, note the excellent demonstration of right chamber anatomy on MR—the trabeculae carneae, papillary muscles, and moderator band of the right ventricle and the tricuspid valve are readily visible, and intravenous contrast administration is not required for MR to demonstrate such detail.

image

image