Chest MRI

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

MRI scans

Vertebra, thoracic (mid back)

Overview

Risks

Results

Chest MRI

Alternative Names:

Nuclear magnetic resonance - chest; Magnetic resonance imaging - chest; NMR - chest; MRI of the thorax

Normal Values:

A normal MRI would not show any abnormalities in the size or position of organs in the chest cavity, as viewed from any plane. The MRI would not reveal any new growths or lesions. Organs would appear to be functioning normally (for those organs where MRI can indicate function).

What abnormal results mean:

The sensitivity of MRI depends, in part, on the experience of the radiologist.

A chest MRI may reveal disorders including:

Thymus tumor
Lung masses
Esophageal mass
Other masses (aggregations of cells) or tumors of the chest
Abnormal lymph nodes
Swollen glands and enlarged lymph nodes in any location of the chest
Staging of tumors including invasion of blood vessels
Alveolar bullae (COPD)
Bronchial abnormalities
Bronchiectasis
Cystic lung lesions
Pleural abnormalities, including thickening or pleural effusion
Abnormal pulmonary vessels
Coarctation of the aorta
Aortic stenosis
Aortic dissection
Pericardial effusion
Thoracic aortic aneurysm

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:

Review Date: 11/3/2004
Reviewed By: Jeffrey J. Brown, MD FACR, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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