Rat models are frequently used in preclinical studies on the pancreatic diseases. However, non-invasive imaging of rat pancreatic models has been hampered by the small size of the pancreas and the unpredictable motion artifacts in rat abdomen. Being widely accessible and of translational advantages, clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners have shown a great potential for small animal imaging studies. In this overview article, by combining clinically available hardware and imaging

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... ocols, different technical challenges for rat pancreatic imaging on clinical MRI settings are addressed, and solutions for practical problems are elaborated. Consequently, state-of-the-art clinical MRI techniques can be translated to non-invasive small animal pancreatic imaging with high flexibility, incorporating high-resolution 3D structural imaging, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, T1/ T2 relaxation mapping, diffusion-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast-enhancement perfusion protocols. Images of rat models of pancreatic and hepatic tumors and acute pancreatitis are used for illustrations.