Everything You Need To Know About Pelvic MRI
Everything You Need To Know About Pelvic MRI
MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to generate images of the inside structure of the body. It helps the doctors to see the soft tissues of the body that are obstructed by the bones such as muscles and organs. The problems that are not detected by other imaging tests could be detected by MRI. Pelvic MRI is done to scan your pelvic region including bones, organs, blood vessels, and other tissue.
The pelvic region is the area between the hips that holds your reproductive organs and several critical muscles. It helps in the diagnosis of unexplained pain in the hips, investigates the spread of certain cancers, and understands the reasons behind these symptoms in a better manner. It creates images to find problems with the bladder, female reproductive organs, lymph nodes, large and small bowel, pelvic bones, prostate and other male reproductive organs, and more.
What are the uses of Pelvic MRI?
It is done to evaluate:
Organs of the pelvis such as the bladder and reproductive organs.
Organs of the abdomen such as kidney, liver, bowel, etc.
Lymph nodes.
Blood vessels.
It is used to diagnose treatment for various conditions such as:
Abdomen or pelvis tumor.
Liver disease.
Inflammatory bowel disease.
The fetus of pregnant women.
Abnormal or inflamed blood vessels.
It can also be helpful in the following conditions:
Birth defects.
Lower abdomen or pelvic region pain.
X-Ray results are abnormal.
Pelvic area injury or trauma.
Difficulty urinating or defecating.
Cancer or suspected cancer.
In women, it is done to investigate:
Infertility.
Irregular vaginal Bleeding.
Lumps in the pelvic region.
Unexplained pain in the pelvic region.
In the case of men, it is done to look for conditions such as:
Undescended testicle.
Lump in the testicles.
What are the benefits of Pelvic MRI?
It is a non-invasive and no radiation test.
It helps in the early diagnosis of many focal lesions and tumors.
The images of the soft tissue structures are visible.
It is a valuable tool for diagnosing conditions such as cancer, and heart and vascular disease.
The abnormalities hidden by bone are visible.
It is a non-invasive alternative to diagnose the problems of the blood vessels.
It helps to assess the biliary system noninvasively and without contrast injection.
What are the risks involved?
The implanted device may malfunction or distort the image.
If the guidelines are followed, there is almost no risk.
A small amount of gadolinium can remain in the body.
What are the limitations?
High-quality images are possible only if the patient lays still.
Implants and metallic objects may interfere with the image.
It may not differentiate between cancer tissue and benign tumors.
It is quite expensive and time taking.
Breathing and bowel motion may cause artifacts or image distortions.
How are the results interpreted?
If the results are normal, this means that there is no problem in the pelvic region.
If there is an abnormal result, it may be due to various conditions.
In women, it may be due to:
Bladder cancer
Cervical cancer
Colorectal cancer
Endometrial cancer
Ovarian cancer
Endometriosis
Ovarian growths
Problem related to the structure of the reproductive organs, such as the fallopian tubes:
Uterine fibroids
In men, it may be due to:
Bladder cancer
Colorectal cancer
Prostate cancer
Testicular cancer
In both males and females, abnormal results may be due to:
Birth defects of the hip joint
Bone tumor
Hip fracture
Osteoarthritis
Osteomyelitis
Source –
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007355.htm
https://www.healthline.com/health/pelvis-mri-scan
https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/mri-abdomen-pelvis