Idiopathic orbital inflammatory syndrome encompasses a group of inflam
matory conditions for which no systemic or local cause can be found, a
nd is commonly re ferred to as orbital pseudotumour. On conventional M
RI sequences subtle areas of inflammation or enhancing tissue can easi
ly be masked by the high signal intensity of orbital fat and involveme
nt of the fat itself may not be appreciated. We describe the MRI featu
res of three patients with idiopathic orbital inflammation using frequ
ency-selective fat saturation and Gd-DTPA.