The definition of a scan is to form an image or an electronic representation. The MRI scan uses magnetic resonance principles to produce extremely detailed pictures of the body tissue without the need for X-ray exposure or other damaging forms of radiation.
MRI scans show structures of the different tissues in the body. The tissue that has the least hydrogen atoms (e.g., bones) appears dark, while the tissue with many hydrogen atoms (e.g., fat) looks bright. The MRI pictures of the brain show details and abnormal structures (brain MRI), for example, tumors, multiple sclerosis lesions, bleedings, or brain tissue that has suffered lack of oxygen after a stroke. A cardiac MRI scan demonstrates the heart as well as blood vessels (cardiovascular imaging) and is used to detect heart defects with e.g., changes in the thickness and infarctions of the muscles around the heart. With MRI scans, nearly all kind of body parts can be tested, for example the joints like knee and shoulder, lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine, the pelvis including fetal MRI, and the soft parts of the body such as the liver, kidneys, and spleen. The MRI procedure includes three to nine imaging sequences and may take up to one hour.

See also Lumbar Spine MRI, MRI Safety and Open MRI.

Multi echo imaging sequences use a series of echoes acquired as a train following after a single excitation pulse. Multiple symmetrical or asymmetrical echoes can be acquired, typically T2 weighted. In spin echo imaging, each echo is formed by a 180° pulse, but also a FSE (TSE, RARE) or EPI sequence can be used. As a difference to a normal fast spin echo sequence, in multi echo imaging, separate images are produced from each echo of the train with different T2 weightings. The signal height reduces with transverse relaxation. This drop in signal can be used to calculate a pure T2 image.

See also Fast Spin Echo.

(PARACEST) The alteration of the proton density or total water signal changes contrast and can be detected by the MRI scanner. Paramagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer contrast agents are based upon the magnetization transfer mechanism.
Lanthanide ion complexes formed with tetra-amide based ligands display unusually slow water exchange kinetics and this feature may be used to alter image contrast by applying a selective presaturation pulse in an imaging sequence. This results in chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) from the lanthanide-bound water to bulk water thereby altering image contrast.
Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) agents are a class of contrast agents that could potentially revolutionize the MRI field because of their improved sensitivity and can have a great impact on functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Quick Overview
Please note that there are different common names for this artifact.

This artifact is caused by movements of the patient or organic processes taking place in the body of the patient. The artifact appears as bright noise, repeating densities or ghosting in the phase encoding direction.

There are different solutions for reduction of phase encoded motion artifacts.
Cardiac and respiratory gating, breath holding, sedation of the patient, presaturation pulses for flow artifacts (e.g. arterial pulsation, breathing), fast imaging sequences, etc.

See also Motion Artifact, Ghosting Artifact, Motion Compensation Pulse Sequences and Artifact Reduction - Motion.

This function is similar to partial averaging in that the complex conjugate relationship between the both halves of k-space is used to shorten the echo time in an imaging sequence.

See Partial Echo.