|
Body Part |
CT Preferred
or Initial Test |
MRI Preferred or
Complimentary |
| Supratentorial Brain |
 |
Stroke |
|
Intracranial
abscess |
|
Acute
intracranial trauma |
|
Skull
fracture |
|
Primary & Metastasis neoplasia |
|
AVM and aneurysm |
|
| Primary & Metastasis neoplasia |
| Congential anomalies |
| De- &
dysmyelination |
| Sella and pituitary
disease |
| AVM and aneurysm |
| Vasculitis |
| Inflammatory disease
in HIV pts |
|
| Posterior Fossa |
| Primary skull base
bone disease |
| Middle ear and
otomastoid inflammation |
| Skull base tumors |
| Skull base fractures |
| craniocervical
junction bony anomalies |
|
| Virtually all
applications in view of its' absence of artifacts |
| Brain convexity |
| Temporal lobes |
| Sella |
| Internal auditory
canals |
|
| Orbits |
| Infectious cellulitis or abscess |
| Orbital trauma & blowout fracture |
| Foreign body |
| Drusen |
| ophthalmopathy vs orbital psueudotumor |
|
| Conal or globe neoplasms or masses |
| Vascular abnormalities |
| ophthalmopathy vs orbital psueudotumor |
| Retinal hemorrhage or subretinal effusion |
| Sudden blindness |
| Cortical blindness or optic pathway disease |
| Optic neuritis |
| Phakomatoses |
| Choroidal osteoma |
|
| Head & Neck
Head & Neck
|
| Laryngeal mass, paralysis or staging of laryngeal
carcinoma |
| Initial diagnosis of neck cellulitis, phlegmon and
peritonsilar abscess |
| Facial bone & jaw masses |
| Dental-associated masses |
| Screening sinus disease |
| Bony head and neck trauma |
| External & middle ear anomalies and inflammatory
disease |
| Skull base and bony neoplasms |
| Neck masses or adenopathy |
| Salivary gland tumor |
|
| Oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal |
| Neck masses or adenopathy |
| Salivary gland tumor |
| Hypopharyngeal |
| Parathyroid adenoma (w/neg. US) |
| Characterization of neck cyst or unusual sonographic
thyroid mass |
| Sensorineural hearing loss |
| Tic douloureux |
| Bell's palsy |
|
| Spine |
| Bony foraminal or central canal stenosis with less
than 2-3 segments involved |
| Lumbar disc disease in patients past the childbearing
years |
| Disc disease when MRI is contraindicated |
| Bony spine trauma |
| Facet arthropathy or arthritis |
| Bone neoplasms & bone anomalies |
| Concentric and eccentric bony canal and foraminal
stenosis |
| Simple disc herniation |
| Spinal stenosis |
|
| Primary and secondary or metastatic neoplasm |
| Vertebral column metastasis |
| Trauma with associated myelopathy |
| Any cause of myelopathy |
| Simple disc herniation |
| Postoperative disc recurrence |
| Discitis & inflammatory myelitis |
| Vascular malformation |
| Congenital anomalies |
| Arachnoiditis |
| Spinal stenosis involving multiple levels on x-ray |
| Any acute spine disease in pregnancy |
| Spinal block from metastatic
disease, mass, or any process |
|
| TMJ |
| Congenital bone dysplasia |
| Fracture |
| Arthropathy |
|
| Internal derangement |
| Avascular necrosis |
| Arthropathy & adhesion |
| Masses |
|
| Orthopedics
Orthopedics
|
| Staging and evaluation of long bone fracture |
| Articular and periarticular fractures and
dislocations (i.e., Lisfranc) |
| Indeterminate bone lesions on MR, plain film or bone
scintigraphy |
| Shoulder labral disease (CT or
MR) |
| Primary tumors and metastatic disease |
| Osteochondral defects,osteoarthritis dissecans and
osteoarthritis |
| Soft tissue masses |
|
| Avascular necrosis |
| Primary tumors and metastatic disease |
| Osteochondral defects,osteoarthritis dissecans and
osteoarthritis |
| Lymphoma and multiple myeloma |
| Occult joint effusion |
| Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis |
| Tendinous, ligamentous and rotator cuff complex
injury or tear |
| Shoulder impingement syndrome |
| Carpal tunnel syndrome of the wrist or neural impingement syndrome |
| Shoulder labral disease |
| Meniscus tear, ligament injury & anterior knee
pain |
| All soft tissue masses |
| Staging of fractures about the knee |
| Peri- and inta-articular soft tissue masses |
| Primary synovial disease |
| Triangular fibrocartilage tear of the wrist |
|
|
Abdomen
Abdomen |
| Initial liver evaluation for metastatic disease |
| Staging of metastatic
carcinoma, including abdominal adenopathy |
| Initial evaluation of abdominal trauma and visceral
injury |
| Abdominal inflammatory disease (diverticulitis,
appendicitis, ischemic bowel, cholangitis, and intra-abdominal abscess |
| Gallbladder disease (CT as adjunct with US and
hepatobillary scintigraphy as initial primary evaluators) |
| Staging of lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease |
| Initial evaluation of cavernous hemangioma of the liver |
| Fatty liver infiltration |
| Retroperitoneal fibrosis |
| Splenic mass |
|
| Mesenteric and portal vein thombosis |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma |
| Hepatic metastatic disease with neg. CT or with
iodine contrast allergy |
| Intravascular staging of renal cell carcinoma |
| Vascular invasion or compression by neoplasm |
| Confirmation of cavernous hemangioma of the liver |
| Differentiation of regenerating nodules versus
hepatoma |
| Confirmation of fatty liver infiltration suspected
by CT |
| Abdominal aortic dissection or occlusion |
| Retroperitoneal fibrosis, malignant versus benign |
| Differentiation of low grade from high grade adrenal
masses |
| Splenic mass characterization with equivocal CT |
| Abdominal screening for pheochromocytoma |
| Staging advanced (III or IV) renal carcinoma |
|
| Male Pelvis |
| Inflammatory disease, including diverticulitis,
appendicitis, prostatitis and pelvic abscess |
| Evaluation of ascites |
| Initial evaluation of pelvic trauma or hemorrhage |
| Pelvic pain of unknown etiology |
| Localized pelvic staging of prostate carcinoma
and bladder carcinoma and initial evaluation of pelvic soft tissue
mass of unknown origin |
| Staging and local extent of rectal carcinoma |
|
| Localized pelvic staging of prostate carcinoma
and bladder carcinoma and evaluation of pelvic soft tissue
mass of unknown origin |
| Initial evaluation of pelvic bony metastases |
| Staging and local extent of rectal carcinoma |
| Distinction of recurrent rectal carcinoma vs
postoperative or radiation change |
| Postoperative perineal abscess and fistula |
|
| Female Pelvis |
| Initial evaluation of all pelvic inflammatory
diseases and pelvic fluid collections |
| Pelvic trauma |
| Initial staging of uterine, and bladder carcinoma |
| Differentiation of adnexal vs uterine mass
w/equivocal US |
| Occult pelvic pain |
|
| Staging of uterine, cervical, vaginal,
urethral and bladder carcinoma |
| Differentiation of adnexal vs uterine mass
w/equivocal US |
| Occult pelvic pain with neg. CT |
| Urethral fistula formation |
|
| MRA |
|
| Screen for carotid bifurcation disease and
vertebrobasilar insufficiency |
| Screen for intracranial aneurysm, AVM or arterial or
veno-occlusive disease |
| Evaluation of pulmonary embolus when iodinated
contrast is absolutely contraindicated |
| Evaluation of thrombosis, including caval, portal
vein and superior mesenteric vein |
|
