[Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of metastatic brain tumor]

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been used for the study of organic substance and solid state since the first reports of this phenomenon in 1946. Recently, the phenomenon has been utilized for body imaging. General pros and cons of this NMR imaging are discussed followed by the NMR characteristics in the diagnosis of metastatic brain tumors. NMR imaging appeared to be more sensitive than X-ray CT as far as the detection of a lesion including edema, is concerned. Differentiation, however, between a tumor and the edema, or between the viable and necrotic tissues of a tumor is not infrequently difficult.