Acute Pancreatitis: How Can MR Imaging Help

MR imaging is useful for diagnosing acute pancreatitis when the clinical situation is unclear, for elucidating the underlying cause of acute pancreatitis, for evaluating complications and disease severity, and for guiding intervention. MR imaging allows for noninvasive evaluation of the pancreatic parenchyma, biliary and pancreatic ducts, exocrine function, peripancreatic soft tissues, and vascular structures in a single examination. MR imaging is emerging as the imaging examination of choice in acute pancreatitis. In this article, the role of imaging in acute pancreatitis is reviewed with an emphasis on the advantages of MR imaging.