MR imaging of orbital and ocular disease

Magnetic resonance (MR) images of 27 patients with ocular and orbital pathology were reviewed retrospectively and correlated with computed tomography (CT), funduscopic examination, and tissue histology. Disease processes were classified by location into ocular, extraconal, intraconal, optic nerve, and orbital apex. The diagnostic efficacy of MR differed at each location. MR was very sensitive in detecting ocular, extraconal, and intraconal lesions larger than 5 mm but was insensitive in imaging smaller lesions and in detecting pathology of the optic nerve. The limitations of MR were related to 7 mm slice thickness and 2.6 mm interslice gap. The diagnostic accuracy is expected to improve markedly with further developments in thin-section imaging and use of surface coils.