Abstract
SUMMARY: High-resolution MR imaging of peripheral nerves is becoming more common and practical with the increasing availability of 3T magnets. There are multiple reports of MR imaging of peripheral nerves in compression and entrapment neuropathies. However, there is a relative paucity of literature on MRN appearance of diffuse peripheral nerve lesions. We attempted to highlight the salient imaging features of myriad diffuse peripheral nerve disorders and imaging techniques for MRN. Using clinical and pathologically proved relevant examples, we present the MRN appearance of various types of diffuse peripheral nerve lesions, such as traumatic, inflammatory, infectious, hereditary, radiation-induced, neoplastic, and tumor variants.
Abbreviations
- CIDP =
- chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy;
- CMT =
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth;
- fat sat =
- fat saturated;
- FLAIR =
- fluid-attenuated inversion recovery;
- FLH =
- fibrolipomatous hamartoma;
- GBS =
- Guillain Barré syndrome;
- CMT/HSMN =
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth/hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy;
- MMN =
- multifocal motor neuropathy;
- MPNST =
- malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor;
- MRN =
- MR neurography;
- NF1 =
- neurofibromatosis type 1;
- NL =
- neurolymphomatosis;
- SE =
- spin-echo;
- SNR =
- signal-to-noise ratio;
- SPACE =
- sampling perfection with application-optimized contrasts by using different flip angle evolutions;
- SPAIR =
- spectral-attenuated inversion recovery;
- STIR =
- short-tau inversion recovery;
- T1WI =
- T1-weighted imaging;
- T1WIFS =
- T1-weighted fat-saturated imaging;
- T2WI =
- T2-weighted imaging;
- T2WIFS =
- T2-weighted fat-saturated imaging
- © 2011 by American Journal of Neuroradiology
Indicates open access to non-subscribers at www.ajnr.org