PURPOSE: It has been suggested that an ulceration or hemorrhage within an atheroma on a stenotic carotid artery is a clinically important cause of transient ischemic attack(TIA). In previous studies, due to its inherent signal loss by static or turbulent flow, magnetic resonance angiography(MRA) proved to be an unreliable methed for the evaluation of subtle changes of ulceration. To improve the detectability of the ulceration within atheroma, avascular phantom was filled with gadolinium solution of various concentrations during various MR sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Several vascular phantoms made of elastic silicon mimicking an ulcerated stenotic internal carotid artery(ICA) were constructed, and gadolinium solution of different concentrations (1:1000 and 1:200 of Gd-DTPA) and distilled water were introduced into the vascular phantoms using a computerized pulsatile pump. To evaluate maximum intensity projection(MIP), multiple planar reconstruction(MPR) and source images, axial and coronal images of MRA with 2D-TOF(time of flight) and 3D-TOF were reviewed. Each image of various sequences was compared with plain X-ray films of each phantom filled with barium. RESULTS: On all MR suquences, the images of the phantom of the normal carotid bifurcation were superior to the images of ulcerated and stenotic phantoms. MPR and MIP were the optimal image for detecting and defining ulceration and stenosis. Better quality images were obtained when a higher concentration of Gd-DTPA was used and when the 3D-TOF technique instead of the 2D-TOF technique was applied. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that a combination of higher concentration gadolinium with MPR and MIP on 3D-TOF technique could be optimal for the evaluation of ulceration and/or stenosis at the bifurcation of the carotid artery.