Your doctor has recommended you for an MRI of your leg. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field, radio waves and a computer to create detailed image slices (cross sections) of the various parts of your leg, foot, ankle and knee, as well as the different types of tissue, such as cartilage, ligaments, tendons and the meniscus (shock absorbers in the knee joint). MR technology produces good soft-tissue images and allows the physician to evaluate different types of body tissue, as well as distinguish normal, healthy tissue from diseased tissue. 

There are two major types of MRI scans; contrast and non-contrast. When a patient is undergoing a contrast MRI, a dye that is gadolinium-based is given to the patient intravenously. A contrast agent will only be used when ordered by a physician, allowing the radiologist to more accurately report on how the patient’s body is working and whether any disease or abnormality is present. The gadolinium contrast medium enhances and improves the quality and clarity of the MRI images.

However, in most cases a non-contrast MRI is an effective exam for imaging the body’s organs. Even without the intravenous contrast, MRI can detect pathology in most organs and in some cases the pathology is made less visible on a contrast MRI than a non-contrast scan. For example, non-contrast scans provide greater images of blood vessel activity to detect aneurysms and blocked blood vessels.1 The results of an MRI procedure without contrast are just as valuable and relevant as those done with the use of a contrast agent.