Morphological identification of brown adipose tissue by magnetic resonance imaging in the rat

Abstract

Morphological distinction between brown and white adipose tissue was obtained in the rat by MRI at 7 Tesla. Both superficial (subcutaneous) and deep (mediastinal) brown fat was visualized; the level of resolution was less than 1 mm. These results show that MRI is a potentially useful tool for studying the biology of brown adipose tissue in the experimental animal and, prospectively, in man.