Malcolm Hanson memorial lecture. MR of the heart: anatomy, physiology, and metabolism.

During the initial years, the use of MR imaging focused on the display of normal and abnormal cardiac anatomy. ECG-gated spin-echo imaging provides high-quality static images that clearly depict cardiac anatomy and a variety of anatomic abnormalities. However, it is now becoming clear that, with the addition of recent innovations, MR also is capable of evaluating cardiovascular physiology. With the use of fast imaging techniques, we can acquire images with essentially high temporal resolution so that cardiac function can be quantitated. Moreover, the use of proton and 31P MR spectroscopy provides additional information, which should enable the sequential monitoring of both cardiac function and metabolism.