Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a medical imaging

Medical imaging

Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...

 technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...

 to visualise the biliary and pancreatic duct

Pancreatic duct

The pancreatic duct, or duct of Wirsung , is a duct joining the pancreas to the common bile duct to supply pancreatic juices which aid in digestion provided by the "exocrine pancreas"...

s in a non-invasive manner. This procedure can be used to determine if gallstone

Gallstone

A gallstone is a crystalline concretion formed within the gallbladder by accretion of bile components. These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract such as the cystic duct, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, or the ampulla of...

s are lodged in any of the ducts surrounding the gallbladder

Gallbladder

In vertebrates the gallbladder is a small organ that aids mainly in fat digestion and concentrates bile produced by the liver. In humans the loss of the gallbladder is usually easily tolerated....

.

It was introduced in 1991.

Comparison to other techniques

In the diagnosis of biliary and pancreatic disorders, MRCP is a much less invasive investigation when compared to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is a technique that combines the use of endoscopy and fluoroscopy to diagnose and treat certain problems of the biliary or pancreatic ductal systems...

 (ERCP). Although both techniques can image the ductal system in detail, MRCP also allows imaging of the surrounding parenchyma

Parenchyma

Parenchyma is a term used to describe a bulk of a substance. It is used in different ways in animals and in plants.The term is New Latin, f. Greek παρέγχυμα - parenkhuma, "visceral flesh", f. παρεγχεῖν - parenkhein, "to pour in" f. para-, "beside" + en-, "in" + khein, "to pour"...

. In a recent study of 269 patients undergoing both ERCP and MRCP, the MRCP compared favourably with the more invasive technique. As with other forms of Magnetic Resonance imaging, appearances can sometimes be deceptive.