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Recent technical advances in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) greatly enhanced the clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the body. DWI can provide excellent tissue contrast based on molecular diffusion and may be able to demonstrate malignant tumors. Quantitative measurement of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) may be valuable in distinguishing between malignant and benign lesions. We reviewed DWI and conventional MRI of the female pelvis to study the utility of DWI in patients with gynecological diseases. Although the ADC can help to differentiate between normal and cancerous tissue in the uterine cervix and endometrium, its utility may be limited by the large overlap of the uterine myometrium and ovaries. On the other hand, the ADC may be useful for monitoring the therapeutic outcome after uterine arterial embolizati (UAE), chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. In …