Morphological and functional evaluation of chronic pancreatitis with magnetic resonance imaging

Table 1 Advantages of magnetic resonance imaging techniques

	MRI	MRCP	s-MRCP	DWI
Loss of aqueous protein	Yes	No	No	No
Glandular atrophy	Yes	No	No	No
Perfusion	Yes	No	No	No
Calcification1	No	No	No	No
Pancreatic ductal dilation	No	Yes	No	No
Filling defects	No	Yes	Yes	No
Strictures	No	Yes	Yes	No
Irregularities	No	Yes	Yes	No
Pseudocysts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Side branch pathology	No	Yes	Yes	No
Exocrine function	No	No	Yes	Yes
Parenchymal fibrosis	No	No	No	Yes

Advantages of the different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques in diagnosing chronic pancreatitis.

¹A disadvantage of MRI is the inability to detect calcifications. This can be achieved through computed tomography scans. DWI: Diffusion weighted imaging; MRCP: Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography; s-MRCP: Secretin-stimulated MRCP.