A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus acquires magnetic resonance signals
by the PI method using an RF coil unit having basic coils serving as
surface coils which are arrayed with at least two coils along a static
magnetic field direction (z direction) and at least two coils along each
of two orthogonal x, y directions. The coils are divided into an upper
unit and a lower unit. The upper unit and lower unit are fixed by a band
or the like to allow them to be mounted on an object to be examined. The
signals detected by the respective surface coils are sent to a data
processing system through independent receiver units and formed into a
magnetic resonance image.
