MR examinations of the prostate were performed on six healthy volunteers and 18 patients with well-documented symptomatic benign prostatic hypertrophy, using an organ-encompassing Helmholtz-type surface coil at 1.5 T. The healthy volunteers were also imaged with a standard circumferential body coil. The morphologic features and signal intensity characteristics of the prostate and adjacent structures were analyzed in the patient group. Several recognizable patterns of benign prostate hypertrophy were identified including bilaterally symmetrical nodules in the central gland, multiple central gland nodules, and a diffusely heterogeneous central gland without appreciable nodules. The peripheral zone was of moderate to high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, and was diffusely heterogeneous in 78% of patients. The false prostatic capsule, peripheral venous plexus, and seminal vesicles were also characterized. A good correlation was shown between prostatic glandular volume and prostate-specific antigen. Calculated signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) were significantly greater on images acquired with the Helmholtz-type receiver coil than on those acquired with the body coil. We conclude that the hyperplastic prostate gland has a variety of MR appearances, but that recognizable patterns are frequently seen. High resolution imaging with a Helmholtz-type surface coil provides excellent anatomical depiction of the prostate and adjacent structures.