title: Magnetic resonance imaging of congenital, inflammatory, and infectious soft-tissue lesions in children.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging has the advantages of multiplanar capability and high degree of tissue differentiation. It is useful for assessing the extent of soft-tissue abnormalities, such as vascular malformations, inflammatory and infectious processes, muscle disorders, and limb hypertrophy. Magnetic resonance imaging is sensitive to the presence of water and edema and is a good indicator for early diagnosis of inflammation and its level of activity. Fat-saturation techniques, including T2-weighted sequences and inversion recovery imaging, optimize diagnostic accuracy. T1-weighted images are good at defining the distribution and proportion of fat in the body, so they are useful in evaluating syndromes of the limbs, including vascular malformations, as well as lipoatrophy-lipodystrophy conditions. Magnetic resonance imaging provides guidance for efficient tissue biopsy. It allows comprehensive pretherapeutic assessment of soft-tissue vascular anomalies. It constitutes a good modality for following up the natural history of soft-tissue disorders during childhood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Faingold
authors.forename: Kamaldine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oudjhane
authors.forename: Derek C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Pedro A B
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008060:Lipodystrophy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*