A method and apparatus for diagnostic imaging of a body part, by nuclear magnetic resonance, which method includes the steps of positioning the body part in a detection volume of a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, inside a dedicated receiving coil; selecting the section or sections of said body part that has to be imaged and carrying out image detection by nuclear magnetic resonance; identifying and storing the detected images; and carrying out at intervals one or more subsequent image detections with nuclear magnetic resonance of the same body part and of the same section thereof as in the preceding image detections with nuclear magnetic resonance, positioning each time the body part in the same relative position with respect to the imaging volume of the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus.