Contribution of antenatal magnetic resonance imaging to diagnostic neuropathology

Abstract

Antenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become a widely available technique for examining the fetus during its normal development and in a variety of diseases, prompting the question of whether it should supplant the traditional incisional route to diagnosis. We review and compare the applications and limitations of both MRI and classical neuropathology, illustrated with selected cases. We conclude that fetal MRI should be regarded as neither threat nor irrelevance, but complimentary to neuropathological practice. For many conditions, combined information from the two investigations can support a diagnosis that would be tentative with either alone.