I am particularly pleased to be able to write the introduction to this book that resulted from a collaborative effort by the Radiology De- partment, under the auspices of the Boerhaave Committee for Postgraduate Medical Education of the Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Leiden and the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences at Van- derbilt University. Magnetic resonance imaging affords the opportunity to interrogate organ and system structure and function in a nondestructive manner without se- rious biological implications. Tissue contrast with this modality is ex-...