Pediatric Whole Body MR Imaging: Pearls and Pitfalls for Practicing Radiologists

Whole body MR imaging is a practical means of obtaining a large field of view assessment of a patient without the use of ionizing radiation. The lack of ionizing radiation is of particular importance in pediatrics, given that children are both more radiosensitive and have a greater life expectancy for stochastic effects as compared to adults. In recent years, continued improvements in MR imaging technology have greatly facilitated the increased performance of routine pediatric whole body imaging. This article discusses pearls and pitfalls associated with pediatric whole body MR imaging to familiarize the practicing radiologist with this imaging examination.