Liver magnetic resonance imaging: State of the art

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has now been used for about three decades to characterize the human liver in a non-invasive way, that is without the need of using ionizing radiation or removing tissue samples. During the past few years, technical progress has been considerable and novel applications of MRI have been implemented in the clinic. The beginning of a new decade offers an excellent opportunity for having fi ve experts to present their view on the current status of MRI (and magnetic resonance spectroscopy) in the study of perfusion, fat and iron contents, diffusion and the metabolism of diffuse liver diseases. This topic highlight series thus provides an update of current knowledge in the fi eld of liver MRI.