الفهرس 
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Abstract
The aim of this study is to verify the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosis of endometriosis.
This study included forty three female patients suffered from infertility and variable degrees of pelvic pain. After clinical assessment, all patients are subjected to MRI examination of the pelvis without IV contrast aiming to verify the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosis of endometriosis and detect the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of MRI technique, as a pre-operative study, in detecting various types of endometriotic lesions at different locations.
This study concluded that, generally MRI has a relative low sensitivity in detecting all forms of endometriosis. However, MRI is highly sensitive in diagnosing ovarian endometrioma and differentiating it from other ovarian lesions such as dermoid cyst and ovarian cancer. Also, it is highly sensitive in detecting sites of deep pelvic endometriosis specially that of the uterosacral ligament and serosal surface of the uterus.
All MRI techniques may induce a potential discomfort for the patient, because of bowel preparation. Also, higher costs of carrying out MRI, and the need for expert radiologists, are a limitation of this diagnostic imaging for diagnosis of endometriosis compared with other imaging modalities such as ultrasound. Although MRI is an efficient means of examination, allowing a complete pelvic work up to be established. Also, magnetic resonance imaging for endometriotic ovarian cyst is requested in selected cases if ultrasound outcome is inconclusive, if malignant transformation is suspected, or both as it presents a high specificity in diagnosing endometriomas owing to its ability to characterize hemorrhage.