All of the following artifacts except ________ occur along the phase encoding axis.

Artifacts that occur along the phase encoding axis are generally related to the way images are reconstructed based on the data collected during MRI scans. The phase encoding direction is critical because it determines how spatial information is represented in the final image.

Aliasing occurs when the spatial frequency of an object exceeds the Nyquist limit in the phase encoding direction, leading to misrepresented or wrapped around structures in the image. Similarly, ghosting artifacts arise from motion or fluctuations during scanning, often seen along the phase encoding axis because they distort the way the data is sampled and processed.

Wrap around artifacts are a type of aliasing specifically associated with the boundaries of the image matrix. They happen when the field of view is too small to encompass the entire anatomy being imaged, leading to portions of the anatomy “wrapping” around into the image.

On the other hand, chemical shift artifacts are related to differences in resonance frequency between fat and water, and tend to appear as discrepancies in the overall image rather than specifically along the phase encoding axis. This artifact results from the varying precession frequencies of fat and water protons, manifesting as misregistrations at their interfaces but does not have a direct correlation with the phase encoding direction specifically.

Thus, the distinction lies in that chemical