Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), also more simply called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is an extremely sensitive and informative diagnostic imaging technique based on the use of electromagnetic fields that are completely harmless to the human body.
It can be used to visualize and examine almost every organ and tissue in the body, finding application in all clinical settings.
Over the past 30 years, MRI has evolved to become increasingly sensitive and versatile, but its uptake is still relatively limited, mainly due to the cost of the instrumentation needed to perform it and the examination for itself, as well as the reduced availability of radiology physicians capable of performing and interpreting it correctly. For these reasons, MRI is considered a 2nd level evaluation, to be used when other simpler and cheaper diagnostic investigations do not provide a sufficiently accurate picture of the present clinical problem.
