Interpretation of nuclear magnetic resonance tomograms of the brain

Nuclear magnetic resonance tomography is an imaging method based on the magnetic resonance behavior of protons, as they occur predominantly in tissue water or in fatty acids. This behavior, as characterized by the relaxation times T1 and T2, is determined by the chemical and physical environment of the protons. The relaxation properties of the tissue can be accentuated by selection of the appropriate pulse sequence. Interpretation of the images requires an understanding of the principles of the technique with which the relaxation times are expressed in the images, and acquaintance with the composition of the tissue in terms of relaxation properties (as in computerized tomography, tissue composition is expressed as attenuation coefficients).