MR depiction of zonal anatomy of the prostate at 1.5 T.

Previous reports of magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate have described a homogeneous appearance to the normal prostate gland. The T2-weighted images of the normal prostate obtained at higher field strength (1.5 T) reveal an inhomogeneous appearance of the normal gland, with apparent differentiation of normal prostatic zones having differing histology. The anterior fibromuscular tissue of the normal prostate, the glandular tissue comprising the central zone of the prostate, and the glandular tissue of the peripheral zone of the prostate can be differentiated by differences in intensity in the T2-weighted images. The ability to differentiate histologically distinct regions of the normal prostate may be important since clinically important prostatic diseases (benign prostatic hypertrophy and carcinoma) arise in different prostatic zones.