MEDICAL PROGRESS .2. MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Musculoskeletal System MRI is widely used to assist in the diagnosis of joint injuries, bone marrow disorders, soft-tissue tumors, and other musculoskeletal abnormalities. Fibrocartilage and ligaments normally appear dark because of a paucity of mobile protons61. In the knee, MRI has a reported sensitivity of 75 to 100 percent for the identification of meniscal tears, as indicated by an increased signal intensity in the fibrocartilaginous meniscus that extends to an articular surface (Figure 6A). MRI has largely supplanted arthrography62,63. Meniscal degeneration not seen at arthroscopy is detected as an increase in intrameniscal signal intensity; this finding is… © 1993, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.