MRI, or Magnetic Resonance Imaging, doesn’t use X rays like CT scan, but uses a strong static magnetic field and radio-frequency energy to generate images. MRI and CT scans offer tomographic imaging studies that produce images of discrete slices of tissue and eliminate confusing shadows from adjacent overlying structures as in a traditional X ray. This allows the doctor to see detailed images of soft tissues, bone, fat, muscles and internal organs in our body.

For patients who may be at increased risk for conventional radiographic methods, MRI offers a safer and better alternative. Magnetic resonance imaging produces complex images in 256 levels of gray in any of planes for viewing — sagittal (left/right), coronal (front/back), axial (head/toe), and oblique (slanted) —  without the need to move the patient. Abdominal organs such as the pancreas and adrenal glands are virtually invisible to standard X rays, but are visualized using CT and MRI, and it offers contrast between bones, tissues and fluids.

Read more on Understanding MRI and The Associated Health Risks