Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Pelvic Floor

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) advancements have improved the speed and quality of static and dynamic image acquisition. Because of this, MRI is seeing increased acceptance in the quest to better understand female pelvic floor anatomy in symptomatic and asymptomatic women.MRI permits the assessment of structural abnormalities in multiple compartments of the pelvic floor, enabling the correlation between structure and symptom severity. MRI-based biometric markers can help to quantify a range of pelvic floor states from normal anatomy to severe anatomic anomalies.This chapter seeks to improve understanding of the complex anatomy of the pelvic floor as well as the interpretation and reporting of MRI studies performed for this purpose.The normal and abnormal appearances of pelvic floor descent are also discussed.