An MRI — or Magnetic Resonance Imaging — Scan allows your doctor to see inside your body. MRI scans can show your bones, tissues, and other organs to help your doctor see what’s going on inside you and makes him or her come up with a more accurate diagnosis of your condition.
MRIs are usually recommended if CT scans and X-rays don’t have much information to offer your specialist. You can ask for an appointment for a private MRI scan at any medical facility that offers this service.
What medical conditions can an MRI scan detect and diagnose?
Depending on which part of your body is being scanned, the imaging will show various results.
Head and Neck
An MRI scan of the head and neck can show your doctor if you are at risk of any traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, abnormalities that can cause anomalies in development, dementia, infection, stroke, eye or inner ear problems, and different causes of headaches among others.
A functional MRI, or fMRI, is a special kind of MRI that checks your brain’s activity by means of measuring the flow of blood to the different parts of your brain. This gives your doctor a good idea of how they will proceed if there are damages caused by brain injuries or Alzheimer’s disease.
Spinal Cord
Since MRI scans are sensitive to any change that takes place in bone structure and cartilage due to injuries, aging, or disease, it can easily detect pinched nerves, spinal cord compression, spinal tumors, fractures, and herniated discs.
Heart and Blood Vessels
MRI performed on the heart and blood vessels helps pinpoint swelling or blockages in the blood vessels, heart valve problems, heart attack damage, pericarditis, tumors in the heart’s chambers and walls, and problems with the body’s main artery or aorta.
Breast
For women, other than checking if implants have been ruptured, MRIs are helpful in breast cancer screening, especially for those who have a higher risk of getting the disease.
For the ladies who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, a breast MRI will show the size of the tumor and how far it has already spread. For those who have already gone through treatment and chemotherapy, it can also be used to see if the cancer has returned.
Bones and Joints
MRIs on bones and joints look for fractures that x-rays cannot show, joint damages (torn cartilage, tendons, or ligaments), compression of the spinal cord, bone infections, arthritis, and tumors.
Other Vital Organs
Aside from the parts listed above, you can also have the following organs checked via MRI.
- Kidneys
- Liver
- Pancreas
- Prostate Gland for men
- Ovaries for women
- Spleen
Cancer
Since MRIs can clearly show specialists what’s going on inside your body, it is no surprise to know that it is also used to detect cancer. The earlier you find out about it, the more that doctors can formulate a plan on how to best go about treating you for the disease.
Unfortunately, MRI scans are not recommended for treating COVID-19-positive patients. It is only acceptable as a last resort for certain medical conditions on top of COVID-19. Simply put, no MRIs for positive patients unless absolutely necessary.
Truly the wonders of modern medicine, like an MRI scan, have been such a great boon to mankind.
