Fluid appears hyperintense on a STIR sequence MRI.

Fluid appears hyperintense on a STIR sequence MRI.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not applicable
• D. Unsure

Answer: (A)

STIR is a fat-suppressed T2-weighted sequence. The inversion pulse nulls fat signal, so fat appears dark while fluids with high water content retain long T2 relaxation and stay bright. This combination makes fluid—edema, effusions, CSF—show up as hyperintense on STIR. So the statement is true because STIR’s fat suppression highlights fluid signal, making fluid appear bright compared with suppressed fat.

STIR is a fat-suppressed T2-weighted sequence. The inversion pulse nulls fat signal, so fat appears dark while fluids with high water content retain long T2 relaxation and stay bright. This combination makes fluid—edema, effusions, CSF—show up as hyperintense on STIR. So the statement is true because STIR’s fat suppression highlights fluid signal, making fluid appear bright compared with suppressed fat.