Practice question

Distinguishing soft tissues requires discrimination based on water content, fat fraction and macromolecular environment rather than electron density. Magnetic resonance imaging excels because proton relaxation parameters T1 and T2 vary substantially between gray matter, white matter, edema, tumor infiltration, muscle and ligament, yielding intrinsic contrast adjustable via pulse sequences. Computed tomography differentiates mainly by X-ray attenuation, limited in soft tissue. PET reflects metabolism with coarse anatomy, EEG contains no anatomical image. Therefore MRI provides superior soft-tissue differentiation for neuroanatomical and pathological assessment.