PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Claire Louise MacIver AU - Sian Ebden AU - Emma C Tallantyre TI - MRI: how to understand it AID - 10.1136/practneurol-2020-002905 DP - 2021 Jun 01 TA - Practical Neurology PG - 216--224 VI - 21 IP - 3 4099 - http://pn.bmj.com/content/21/3/216.short 4100 - http://pn.bmj.com/content/21/3/216.full SO - Pract Neurol2021 Jun 01; 21 AB - MRI is a staple of the neurologist’s armoury when facing diagnostic challenges. At times, it can reveal or confirm the diagnosis with clarity, at others it brings us no further forwards, or even muddies the water. We rely on the expertise of neuroradiology colleagues to interpret MR images, but the choice of protocol for MR acquisition and its interpretation hinge crucially on the clinical information we provide. Having a degree of understanding about how MRI works, its limitations and pitfalls, can help to optimise what we learn from a scan.