HIGH-RESOLUTION MR-IMAGING OF THE CUTIS AND SUBCUTIS - HISTOLOGICAL CORRELATION

Objective: To determine whether the spatial resolution that can be ach ieved with currently available MR devices is adequate for the evaluati on of skin disease. Material and Methods: We correlated high-resolutio n MR images of the skin with dermatohistopathology in 26 patients. The examinations were carried out on a 1.0 T imager using a commercially available surface coil (ID 7.5 cm) and optimized SE and GE sequences. Image quality was assessed by four readers on a questionnaire. Results . The visualization of the dermis, subcutaneous tissue, and muscle fas cia allowed a pattern analysis that gave findings identical to;those a t dermatohistopathology. It was possible to distinguish septal from lo bular panniculitis, and lipatrophia from sclerodermia. Images with con trast media infusion were useful in the differential diagnosis. Conclu sion. High-resolution MR imaging may narrow down the differential diag nosis of various skin diseases and may help to reduce the number of sk in biopsies on certain indications.