Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography: Pearls, Pitfalls, and Pathology

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography is a method of evaluating the pancreaticobiliary tree through the use of heavily T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. Despite being introduced approximately 2 decades ago, it remains the best noninvasive diagnostic tool for this purpose, facilitated by advances in imaging acquisition and technique. The purpose of this review is to describe the protocol at our institution, highlight the pitfalls the reader needs to be aware of when interpreting magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography images, and demonstrate the different pathologies that it can be used to investigate.