Around Des Plaines, a scan request can say "leg MRI" on one sheet and "ankle MRI" on another. This page keeps those two labels apart and checks what two published sources say under each name.
What the leg label means
MedlinePlus defines the scan under that name: "A leg MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan uses strong magnets to create pictures of the leg." The definition is about the pictures and the equipment. It says nothing here about a particular joint, which is why the word "leg" is the first place to look when two scan names seem to overlap.
How the scan is set up
The same source describes the setup in plain terms: "You will lie on a narrow table that slides into a tunnel-like scanner." Anyone comparing a scan to other imaging should line up that physical setup first. The full MedlinePlus leg MRI scan entry can be read beside any order you have been given.
Where the wording blurs
"Leg" names a broad region. "Ankle joint and hindfoot" names a narrow one. A scan name that mixes the two, such as "lower leg and ankle," does not tell you which region the picture is aimed at. Compare the region each name claims before comparing anything else about the scans.
Who each source is written for
The MedlinePlus entry is an encyclopedia article that explains the scan itself. The research paper is different in kind. MRI Evaluation of Traumatic and Non-traumatic Pathologies of the Ankle Joint and Hindfoot: A Single-Center Observational Study is indexed in NIH PMC, and its title frames the work around the ankle joint and hindfoot and splits the problems it covers into traumatic and non-traumatic. One source explains a scan. The other reports on a body region.
The question that decides it
Before booking, read the region named on the request and ask whether it says leg, ankle joint, or hindfoot. Then check that the description you were given uses the same word.