RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this report is to highlight the use of the magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of very small tumors of the pancreas. BACKGROUND: The computed axial tomography and angiography have been the traditional methods in the detection of neoplasms of the pancreas, mostly vascular lesions, both lacking the tissue characterization and contrast; the magnetic resonance scan was performed to rule out a pancreatic tumor in a 37 year old female patient with hypoglycemia, previously treated for seizures. RESULTS: A 1.0 cm nodular hypointense lesion was seen in the union of the body and the tail of the pancreas, confirmed by surgery and pathology as an insular cell tumor. CONCLUSION: Given its axial and tissue contrast resolution, as demonstrated in our case, the magnetic resonance imaging has became the gold standard in the identification of very small tumors of the pancreas.