Abstract: A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer includes a magnetic field profiling apparatus for producing a resulting static homogeneous magnetic field through a controllable volume and a magnetic field in an immediately adjacent surrounding volume of magnitude varying rapidly with distance. The dimension of the volume of uniform magnetic field and the immediately adjacent volume of rapidly varying magnetic field can be controlled by adjusting the current delivered by a power supply which energizes coils included in the magnetic field profiling apparatus. The generation of homogeneous magnetic fields throughout a controllable volume allows NMR techniques to be applied to a selected region which is located entirely within an inhomogeneous body, such as a particular organ in a human body. The uniformity of the magnetic field is such as to allow chemical shift information to be recovered in an NMR spectrum, and it is significant that this result is achieved in a noninvasive technique.