When your MRI first loads up, if you're lucky, it will be immediately obvious what you're looking at. However, in many cases, the image you see may be a completely unintelligible mix of black, white, and grey. Knowing how MRIs are shot can help you make sense of your images. The three main ways MRIs are displayed are: Sagittal: Often the easiest for non-doctors to interpret. Sagittal MRIs are basically side or profile views of your body. The image is as if you've been sliced in half vertically, from your head to your pelvis. Coronal: These images are basically a "head on" view of your body. You're looking at your features vertically from the front as if you were standing facing the camera. Cross-sectional: Often the hardest for non-doctors to interpret. Here, you're basically viewing thin slices of your body from the top down as if you've been cut into many thin horizontal slices from your head to your toes like a salami. MRIs are in black and white, which can sometimes make it hard to tell parts of the body apart. Because there's no color, contrast is your best friend. Luckily, different types of tissue show up as different shades on an MRI, so it's easy to see contrast where differing tissues meet. The exact shade that each type of tissue will be depends on the MRI's contrast settings. The two main contrast settings are called T1 and T2. Though the differences between these settings are minor, they can help doctors find problems more efficiently. For instance, T2 is usually used for diseases (as opposed to injuries) because diseased tissues tend to show up better on this setting. MRI programs almost always have the ability to display more than one image at once. This makes it convenient for doctors to compare different views of the same area or even MRIs taken at different times. For most non-doctors, it's easiest to simply choose a one-image-at-a-time layout and cycle through the images individually. However, there should be onscreen instructions to show two, four, or many more images at once, so feel free to play around with this feature. If you display a cross-sectional image along with a sagittal or coronal image, you may see a section-cut line on the second image. This will be a straight line running through the image, but it may not be present on all MRIs. If your image does have one, this shows where on the second image the cross section is located. You should be able to move the section cut line toward the center, right or left of the image. This will change the larger layout image to show the body from the new direction of the scan. The section-cut line on the layout picture also shows the direction that the image was taken from. For example, if your MRI were a picture of an everyday object, like a tree, the section cut line might show you if the picture was taken from above in a plane, from a second-story window, or from the ground. Dragging the section-cut line to a different part of the image allows you to "move around" your MRI images. The image should change your view to the new area automatically. For example, if you're viewing a sagittal image of your spine along with a cross section of one of your vertebrae, moving the section-cut line may allow you to cycle up and down through the various vertebrae above and below it. This can be useful for locating problems like herniated discs.
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One-sentence summary -- Familiarize yourself with the different MRI viewing schemes. Look for contrast to identify different body features. Pick an appealing series layout. Use the section-cut line to see where cross-sections are located. Drag the section-cut line to view new parts of the study.

Your newfound feelings of affection for your girl friend may be light years from her own feelings about you. After all, yesterday you were both friends, while today, at least one of you has shifted into new territory. Has she given you any indication that she might be interested in something deeper than platonic friendship? Have you seen signs of flirting or wanting to be close all the time? Or does she act the way she always has done, friendly, attentive and affectionate but only in the way of a good friend? Paying attention to these things can help you have a better sense of the situation. See how she acts when she talks to you. Is she the same as she's always been, or has she been suddenly acting more self-conscious? If that's the case, then she may be nervous because she wants something more from you, too. However, if she does act exactly the same, it doesn't mean that she doesn't have new feelings for you. Still, it helps to try to gauge her feelings before you proceed. Was she always comfortable telling you about the guys she likes, but she has recently stopped doing that? This could be an indication that you may be the only guy she has feelings for. You may be so hung up on the idea of dating your favorite girl friend that you may not be reading the signs properly. If you have some trusted friends who have hung out with the two of you and can watch you in action objectively, then don't be afraid to ask them what they honestly think your chances are. A true friend will give you his honest opinion, and he may be able to tell you if he thinks she likes you, or if she just sees you as a friend. Of course, your friends may just be telling you what you want to hear. But if you seek out an honest friend and ask for an honest opinion, you may be in luck. This doesn't mean that your friends will be able to read the situation better than you can. But it does help to have your suspicions confirmed, or to have your friend break the news that the girl actually likes someone else. Be clear. The problem often lies in being nice, as friends usually are. Niceness is an admirable quality in friendship but it's bland when it comes to passion and love. Being nice rather than flirtatious and daring will give her the impression that you are a great friend, but not a great lover. If you keep it up, you'll most likely get stuck in the friend zone. The answer? You really need to flirt more! And if you don't think you're any good at flirting, don't worryflirting is, and should be, playful and fun. Don't let her do the usual "friend" things with you. Don't let her treat you like a girlfriend or tell you about a boy she likes. Make sure that she sees you as more than that. Before you go and ask out your girl friend, make sure that you're really ready to take the risk involved in asking out one of your friends. If she's one of your best friends, or is even your best friend, then you have to make sure that your feelings are really genuine and that you're ready to take the plunge, and to risk the friendship you have by dating. In the end, your friendship may be more important than your romantic relationship. The truth is that most relationships don't end in marriage, and you may not be able to return to your old friendship when you break up. However, if you really do like the girl and see a real future with her, then you should go for it.
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One-sentence summary --
Try to figure out how she feels about you. Ask your friends what they think. Avoid the friend zone. Make sure it's worth it.