Evaluation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of the abdomen was done in 41 patients with focal and diffuse disorders of the liver and retroperitoneal and vascular abnormalities. Spin-echo technique was used in each situation with varying time to echo (TE) and repetition rates (TR). No single pulsing technique was optimal in all situations. Three false-negative NMR studies of 22 patients with focal lesions of the liver were attributed to incomplete coverage of the involved area or inappropriate pulsing technique. When appropriate technique was achieved, NMR was equal to computed tomography (CT) in detecting abdominal disorders, except in fatty infiltration of the liver. NMR was superior to CT in imaging vascular anatomy because of the inherent increased contrast produced by the absence of signal from flowing blood and the flexibility of imaging planes.