Pelvic floor dysfunctions involving some or all pelvic viscera are complex conditions that occur frequently and primarily affect adult women. Because abnormalities of the three pelvic compartments are frequently associated, a complete survey of the entire pelvis is necessary for optimal patient management, especially before surgical correction is attempted. With the increasing use of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in assessing functional disorders of the pelvic floor, familiarity with normal imaging findings and features of pathologic conditions are important for radiologists. Dynamic MR imaging of the pelvic floor is an excellent tool for assessing functional disorders of the pelvic floor such as pelvic organ prolapse, outlet obstruction, and incontinence. Findings reported at dynamic MR imaging of the pelvic floor are valuable for selecting patients who are candidates for surgical treatment and for choosing the appropriate surgical approach. This pictorial essay reviews MR imaging findings of pelvic organ prolapse, fecal incontinence, and obstructed defecation. Supplemental material available at http://radiographics.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content/full/e35v1/DC1.

To prospectively compare the diagnostic accuracy of MR enteroclysis with duodenal intubation with MRI after drinking oral contrast agent only (MR enterography) with conventional enteroclysis (conv-E) as reference standard in patients with Crohn's disease. Forty consecutive patients (22 males and 18 females; mean age 36; range 16-74 years) with proven Crohn's disease underwent conv-E and MR imaging. Twenty-two patients underwent MR enteroclysis with intubation (MRE) and 18 underwent MR-enterography (MR per OS). Two radiologists reached a consensus about the following imaging findings: luminal distension and visualization of superficial mucosal, mural and mesenteric abnormalities. Standard descriptive statistics and a Wilcoxon rank sum test were used. Statistical significance was inferred at P < 0.05. There was no significant difference in the adequacy of luminal distention between the MRE and conv-E (P = 0.08), and both were statistically superior in comparison to MR per OS in the distension of the jejunum (P < 0.01) and less significant at the ileum and terminal ileum levels (P < 0.05). MRE and conv-E were comparable for the accuracy of superficial mucosal abnormalities; meanwhile conv-E compared with MR per OS was statistically superior (P < 0.01). MRE compared with MR per OS was statistically better when visualizing superficial abnormalities (P < 0.01). No statistically significant differences were found in assessing the diagnostic efficacy between MR examinations for the depiction of mural stenosis (P = 0.105) and fistulae (P = 0.67). The number of detected mesenteric findings was significantly higher with both MRE and MR per OS compared to conv-E (P < 0.01). MRE can serve as the diagnostic procedure for initially evaluating patients suspected of having Crohn's disease. MR per OS may have a role in patients that refuse or have failed intubation and also for follow-up.

The purpose of this study was to compare the value of pelvic ultrasound with color Doppler and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in: (1) the diagnosis of placental adhesive disorders (PADs), (2) the definition of the degree of placenta invasiveness, (3) determining the topographic correlation between the diagnostic images and the surgical results. Fifty patients in the third trimester of pregnancy with a diagnosis of placenta previa and at least one previous caesarean section underwent color Doppler ultrasound (US) and MRI. The sonographic and MRI diagnoses were compared with the final pathologic or operative findings. Outcomes at delivery were as follows: normal placenta (n = 38) and PAD (n = 12). MR and US Doppler showed no statistically difference in identifying patients with PAD (P = 0.74), while MRI was statistically better than US Doppler in evaluating the depth of placenta infiltration (P < 0.001). MRI accurately characterized the topography of invasion in 12/12 (100%) of the cases, while US accurately characterized the topography of invasion in 9/12 (75%) of the cases. In conclusion, we confirmed that pelvic US is highly reliable to diagnose or exclude the presence of PAD and found MRI to be an excellent tool for the staging and topographic evaluation of PAD.

MRI combined with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI showed a higher sensitivity and specificity compared with MRI alone in detecting local recurrences after radical prostatectomy.

An accurate locoregional staging of rectal cancer is essential for the planning of optimal therapy for rectal cancer. Endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound showed similar results; the former is more expensive, whereas the latter is operator dependent. At present the use of endorectal coil magnetic resonance imaging seems to be justified only in selected low rectal cancers where transrectal ultrasound yielded doubtful results. However, a more extensive study is necessary to compare the advantages of these diagnostic techniques.