
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Appendicitis MRI
Introduction
Overview
Overview
MRI may be helpful in the diagnosis of appendicitis. Magnetic resonance imaging has become the common technique for diagnosing appendicitis in children and pregnant patients.
MRI
MRI
MRI may be helpful in the diagnosis of appendicitis.[1]
Advantages of MRI
- The high dosage of radiation can be harmful for children and developing fetus, while posing a nearly negligible risk in healthy adults.
- The enlarged uterus displaces the appendix during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, making it difficult to find by ultrasound. An MRI is therefore preferred.[1]
Findings
- On an MRI, a periappendiceal stranding appears as an increased fluid signal on the T2 weighted sequence (while it is reflected by fat stranding on a CT scan).[1][2]

Source:Case courtesy of Dr Andrew Dixon, <a href=”https://radiopaedia.org/“>Radiopaedia.org</a>. From the case <a href=”https://radiopaedia.org/cases/9644“>rID: 9644</a>
References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Appendicitis. Wikipedia (26 November 2015).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendicitis#Imaging Accessed on December 7, 2015
- ↑ Image courtesy of Radiologypics. Radiologypics
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Farwa Haideri [2]
