Infarction of the kidney: role of contrast enhanced MRI.

Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on nine kidneys in six patients with renal infarction caused by renal arterial embolism secondary to cardiac valvular disease. The time interval between the onset of the symptoms attributable to renal infarction and the date of MRI was 2-23 days. On both T1- and T2-weighted images the signal intensity of the infarcted area was lower than that of the noninfarcted area in six kidneys and higher in three kidneys. Postcontrast T1-weighted images demonstrated the extent of the infarction except in the kidney in which the infarcted areas had high signal intensity on precontrast T1-weighted images.