[Magnetic resonance tomography in the diagnosis of orbital diseases]

The diagnostic potentialities of magnetic-resonance (MR) tomography have been studied in examinations of 45 patients. Primary and secondary tumors of the orbit have been revealed in 15, endocrine ophthalmopathy in 19, injuries of the orbit in 11 patients. The major tomographic signs of these conditions in the axial, frontal, and sagittal projections are described. The results evidence that MR tomography is a highly informative noninvasive method whose principal advantages are the absence of ionizing radiation and the possibility of examination directly in 3 mutually perpendicular projections. MR tomography permits imaging the soft-tissue structures and assessing the anatomic and topographic status of the orbit and the adjacent areas.