Surface coil for a nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus

A surface coil for a nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus has a number of conductor sections arranged relative to each other. Switches are provided to connect the conductor sections in different combinations. Each combination outlines a differently sized area, or a different region, of the patient. The switches also connect the combination of conductor sections which is to be utilized to a tuning circuit. A single surface coil can thus be used to examine different regions of a patient without the coil having to be physically displaced. The different combinations of conductor sections, which connected, may form a rectangle which is adjacent to, or overlaps, a rectangle of unconnected sections.