| Summary: | Purpose: The identification of the phosphodiester <sup>31</sup>P MR signals in the healthy human breast at ultra-high field.Methods:<i>In vivo</i> <sup>31</sup>P MRS measurements at 7 tesla of the phosphodiester signals in the breast were performed investigating the chemical shifts, the transverse- and the longitudinal relaxation times. Chemical shifts and transverse relaxation times were compared with non-ambiguous phosphodiester signals from the liver.Results: The chemical shifts of the phosphodiester signals are shifted -0.5 ppm with respect to glycerophosphocholine and -ethanolamine, and the transverse and longitudinal relaxation times for these signals are a factor 3 to 4 shorter than expected for aqueous glycerophosphocholine and -ethanolamine.Conclusions: The available experimental evidence suggests that glycerophosphocholine and –ethanolamine are not the main source of the phosphodiester signals measured in fibroglandular breast tissue at 7 tesla. These signals may predominantly originate from mobile phospholipids.
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