Sagittal slices cut the spine on a side view to allow the profile of the spine to be displayed. Coronal cuts allow a front to back view and axial slices are the equivalent of “cutting the person in half” and looking up from the bottom.
T1 scans display water as black and fat as white. T2 scans demonstrate both water and fat as white. STIR scans display water as white and fat as black. Gadolinium is a “dye’ that highlights blood vessels (inflammation) and can only be used on T1 scans where water is black.
These changes are associated with TR (relaxation time) and TE (excitation time) based upon how the atoms are filled with energy (excitation) and then expend that energy (relaxation) as picked up by a coil around the body part.
Dr. Corenman
