Magnetic resonance approaches to the evaluation of pulmonary vascular anatomy and physiology.

MR imaging offers the potential for combined anatomic and flow-related information about the pulmonary circulation. Although conventional spin-echo sequences have provided an accurate and noninvasive means of evaluating the anatomy of the central pulmonary arteries and veins, newer MR techniques--including cine MR, velocity-encoded phase-contrast scans, spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM), fast scan techniques with breath-holding, and echo planar imaging in combination with computer-based post-processing--are providing physiological information superimposed on the anatomic maps. This paper reviews these new MR approaches to the integrated anatomic and physiologic imaging of the pulmonary vasculature.