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Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Skeletal Musculature pp 55–68Cite as

Whole-Body MRI for Evaluation of the Entire Muscular System

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Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Due to several technological advances, whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) is currently feasible with reasonable examination times and very good image quality. WB MRI protocols must be customized to the clinical questions they should solve. The most important MR sequences when evaluating skeletal muscle disease are as follows: T1-weighted (T1w) sequences are appropriate to depict anatomy, assess muscle atrophy, and detect fatty infiltration of muscles. Short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequences or T2-weighted fat-saturated sequences can sensitively detect muscle edema. In this chapter, a comprehensive neuromuscular WB MRI protocol consisting of coronal T1w and STIR sequences at five body levels and additional axial T1w sequences is presented, modifications of this protocol are also discussed. In comparison to dedicated muscle MRI, WB MRI might be more useful for determination of the extent of the disease, detection of subclinical involvement, differential diagnosis, muscle biopsy planning, noninvasive follow-up examinations, and therapy monitoring. Currently, the most common application of neuromuscular WB MRI is the evaluation of inflammatory myopathies; muscle edema can be detected very sensitively. Another promising field for neuromuscular WB MRI are degenerative myopathies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany

    Nicolai Schramm

  2. Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Sabine Weckbach

  3. FFSEM, Newman Professor of Radiology, University College Dublin, Consultant Musculoskeletal Radiologist, Departments of Radiology, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and Cappagh National, Orthopaedic Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Stephen Eustace

  4. Department of Radiology, Specialist Registrar in Diagnostic Radiology, Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dublin, Finglas, Ireland

    Niamh M. Long

Authors
  1. Nicolai Schramm
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  2. Sabine Weckbach
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  3. Stephen Eustace
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  4. Niamh M. Long
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolai Schramm .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Marc-André Weber

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Schramm, N., Weckbach, S., Eustace, S., Long, N.M. (2013). Whole-Body MRI for Evaluation of the Entire Muscular System. In: Weber, MA. (eds) Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Skeletal Musculature. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2013_873

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2013_873

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-37218-6

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