Fig. (9) Example of reperfused MI in a rat. Images of the infarcted heart were acquired two hours after reperfusion of the occluded left anterior descending coronary artery. The size of the infarcted myocardium can be roughly estimated via reduced contractility on short axis views. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) (far right) can be used for accurate assessment of the infarct size. The size changes associated with cell death are exploited with this method and can be seen as enhancement of the myocardium. ED; end diastolic and ES; end systolic time points. The scale bar represents 1 cm.