Abstract: Objective: To assess the value of 3D CEMRA in the diagnosis of arterial diseases in the neck. Methods: 3D CEMRA was performed in 130 patients who were suspected to have arterial diseases in the neck. Some patients also took TOF MRA, PC MRA and DSA. The number of lesions detected by different methods was calculated and compared. The patients were randomly divided into 3 groups based on the different contrast injection rate: 1ml/s, 2ml/s and 3ml/s. The imags of each group were graded and compared. Results: Of the cases, 18 (13.8%) did not show any abnormal arteries and 112 (86.2%) showed 288 abnormal segments of the arteries. Among all the lesions, atherosclerosing plaque accounted for 34.0%(n=98); arterial stenosis, 26.0%(n=75); arterial occlusion, 6.9%(n=20); tenuous arteries, 15.3%(n=44); tortuous arteries, 16.0%(n=46); abberant arteries, 1.4%(n=4); and aneurysm, 0.3%(n=1). For the 93 cases that took both 3D CEMRA and TOF MRA, there was a significant difference between the two methods, except for the external carotid artery. For the 81 cases that took both 3D CEMRA and PC MRA, there was also a significant difference between them for every segment of arteries. For the 8 cases that took both 3D CEMRA and DSA, there was not a significant difference between them. For the three groups divided based on the different contrast injection rate, there was a statistical difference between the group of 1ml/s and 3ml/s and between the groups of 1ml/s and 2ml/s, but not a significant difference between the groups of 3?ml/s and 2?ml/s. Conclusion: 3D CEMRA is a reliable method in the diagnosis of arterial diseases in the neck and can mostly replace the gold standard of DSA.

Key words: Carotid artery diseases, Magnetic resonance angiography, Contrast medium