Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Acute Adnexal Pathology

Acute pelvic pain is a common presenting symptom in women, but the etiology is often not readily apparent. The differential diagnosis varies greatly for pre versus postmenopausal and pregnant versus nonpregnant women. In addition to physical examination and laboratory evaluation, imaging plays an important role in narrowing the differential diagnosis. Pelvic ultrasound (US) is the first-line imaging modality, but occasionally pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used for problem-solving in the acute setting. The aim of this article is to educate radiologists on the appearance of acute adnexal pathologies that can be definitively diagnosed at MRI.