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Table 2 MRI sequences and tissue signal intensities [3, 8]

From: The value of bone marrow, liver, and spleen imaging in diagnosis, prognostication, and follow-up monitoring of myeloproliferative neoplasms: a systematic review

 

T1-weighted spin-echo

(representing the sum of in-phase signals of fat and water)

STIR

(enhances the difference in longitudinal relaxation of fat and water)

Chemical shift imaging

(out-of-phase images visualizing the absolute difference between water and fat signals)

Fat

High

Low

High

Water

Low

High

High

Cellular marrow

(≈ 40% fat, 40% water, 20% protein)

Intermediate

(higher than muscle)

Intermediate

(higher than muscle)

Low

Fatty marrow

(≈ 80% fat, 15% water, 5% protein)

High

Low

High

Fibrosis

Low

Low

Low

  1. MRI magnetic resonance imaging, STIR short tau inversion recovery
  2. In general, marrow characteristics are mainly based on its fat and water content, since bone lacks mobile protons [76]. Description of brightness is relative, as compared to the signal intensity of adjacent muscle or intervertebral disc