1. A method for detecting chiari malformations, comprising: providing a patient-receiving apparatus for positioning a patient in an upright orientation in a patient-receiving space of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus; acquiring magnetic resonance signals of cranio-spinal tissue of the patient in the upright orientation; measuring flow of cerebrospinal fluid of the patient in the upright orientation; rotating the patient-receiving apparatus so that the patient is positioned in a recumbent orientation in the patient-receiving space of the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus; acquiring magnetic resonance signals of the patient's cranio-spinal tissue in the recumbent orientation; and processing the magnetic resonance signals acquired in the upright and recumbent orientations to display one or more images that are used to detect the presence or absence of chiari malformations.