Gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted renal and abdominal MR imaging: quantitative discrepancy between clinical and in vitro findings.

The authors observed a marked discrepancy between empirical contrast medium performance in abdominal organs and SI values for comparable gadodiamide concentrations in vitro. One possible reason is the intracellular compartmentalization of water molecules in vivo. These results suggest a need for a better understanding of MR contrast medium performance in vivo.