Is MRI a full body examination?

If you have a disease, you should go to the hospital for a check-up in time and check your vital signs as ordered by the doctor. Magnetic resonance imaging is a relatively common clinical test, but many people think that MRI is harmful to their bodies and are even afraid to perform this operation, which has an adverse effect on their disease and makes it impossible to diagnose the disease factors in a timely and correct manner. So, is an MRI a full-body examination?

1. Inspection Technology

Nuclear spin motion is the basis of magnetic resonance imaging, and hydrogen atoms are the most numerous substance in the human body. Under normal circumstances, the hydrogen nuclei in the human body are in an irregular precession state. When the human body enters a strong and uniform magnetic space, under the action of an external static magnetic field, the originally chaotic hydrogen nuclei are arranged in the direction of the external magnetic field and continue to precess. When the external magnetic field is stopped immediately, the hydrogen atoms in the human body will return to their original state in the same tissue at the same time. This is called relaxation. The relaxation time of human tissue under pathological conditions is different. These signals are collected by a computer system and converted into images through digital reconstruction technology to provide scientific diagnostic results for clinical and research.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, due to its high resolution of soft tissue synovium, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and hyaline cartilage, is used for clinical examination of inflammation of synovium, blood vessels, muscles, fascia, synovial cysts and hyaline cartilage degeneration, exfoliation and bone erosion and ischemic necrosis, cervical spine and nucleus pulposus lesions, knee meniscus and cruciate ligament injuries, rheumatoid neurological complications and osteomyelitis. The macroscopic condition of synovial inflammation can be determined, such as the degree and range of fibrin exudation when the synovial volume changes, cell infiltration, vascular proliferation and granuloma (pannus) formation, synovial villus and synovial hypertrophy, etc., the early stage of arthritis and its pathological activity. It can also distinguish myositis, fascial tension, fat infiltration and hypertrophy, and the rise and fall of inflammation. It can clearly show cervical dislocation, spinal cord compression and spinal cord twisting.

2. Precautions

Magnetic resonance imaging has the advantages of safety, no radiation, and accuracy. Magnetic resonance imaging can only be performed if the following points are ensured:

1. People who have magnetic substances in their bodies, such as pacemakers, artificial valves, or metal foreign objects remaining near important organs, cannot undergo this examination. However, people whose implants are confirmed to be non-magnetic by the surgeon can undergo MRI examination.

2. Inform the technical staff of the following situations: whether there is any surgical history; whether there are any metal or magnetic materials implanted in the body, including metal IUDs, etc.; whether there are any dentures, electronic ears, artificial eyes, etc.; whether there are any drug allergies; whether any metal foreign objects have been splashed into the body.

3. Do not wear underwear with metal materials. Patients who need to have their head and neck examined should wash their hair the day before the examination and do not use any hair care products.

4. Before the examination, you need to take off all clothes except underwear and change into special clothes for examination in the MRI room. Remove any metal accessories you are wearing such as necklaces, earrings, watches and rings. Remove facial makeup and items such as dentures, artificial eyes, and glasses.

5. Before the examination, you must provide the doctor with your entire medical history, examination data, and all X-rays, CT scans, previous MRI scans, etc.

6. For abdominal examination (liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas, bile duct, ureter, etc.), the examinee should fast for 4 hours and inject one syringe of 654-2 before the examination.

7. Patients undergoing magnetic resonance urography (MRU) should take 20 mg of furosemide orally before the examination.

8. Be mentally prepared for an MRI scan. Don't be impatient or afraid. Follow the doctor's instructions and cooperate patiently.