In 2003, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Paul C. Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield for discoveries related to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This is a tool to see the structures of the body (not just the nervous system) that depends on magnetic fields associated with certain atomic nuclei. The utility of this technique in the nervous system is that fat tissue and water appear as different shades between black and white. Because white matter is fatty (from myelin) and gray matter is not, they can be easily distinguished in MRI images. Visit the Nobel Prize website (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/nobel_2) to play an interactive game that demonstrates the use of this technology and compares it with other types of imaging technologies. Also, the results from an MRI session are compared with images obtained from x-ray or computed tomography. How do the imaging techniques shown in this game indicate the separation of white and gray matter compared with the freshly dissected tissue shown earlier?
To write:
Comparison and separation of the white and gray matter in MRI.
Introduction:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique which produces detailed images of the body parts using strong magnetic fields and radio waves.
Explanation of Solution
MRI uses the magnetic properties of the certain atomic nucleus. A major component of the human body is the water molecule which is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Proton present in every hydrogen atom is like the tiny magnets that are sensitive to magnetic fields. They align themselves in the direction of the magnetic field which is deviated by sending the radio waves and realign once the radio waves are turned off. These signals provide information about the exact location of the protons in the body. They also help to distinguish between the various types of tissues like the gray matter and the white matter in the brain by the relative amount of water present. The gray matter appears dark gray and the white matter appears lighter gray, water appears dark, fats appear bright.
Thus, MRI is a technique used in the examination of the central nervous system and the other parts of the body indicating disorders if any.
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