Epidemiology and imaging of the subchondral bone in articular cartilage repair.

Articular cartilage and the subchondral bone act as a functional unit. Following trauma, osteochondritis dissecans, osteonecrosis or osteoarthritis, this intimate connection may become disrupted. Osteochondral defects-the type of defects that extend into the subchondral bone-account for about 5% of all articular cartilage lesions.

The pelvic digit: a harmless "eleventh" finger.

We report a case of a rare congenital anomaly called "pelvic digit". It was incidentally found on a plain radiograph of the pelvis. The radiographic and CT features are described.

Magnetization transfer analysis of cartilage repair tissue: a preliminary study.

Purpose: To evaluate the magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) after two different cartilage repair procedures, and to compare these data with the MTR of normal cartilage.

Design And Patients: Twenty-seven patients with a proven cartilage defect were recruited: 13 were treated with autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and 14 were treated with the microfracture technique (MFR). All patients underwent MRI examinations with MT-sequences before the surgical treatment, after 12 months (26 patients) and after 24 months (11 patients).

Assessment of the appropriateness of requested radiological examinations for outpatients and the potential financial consequences of guideline application.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether requested radiological examinations for referred outpatients are in concordance with the guidelines as proposed by the consilium radiologicum. A second purpose was to evaluate the financial effect of strict guideline application. The radiological requests for 1000 referrals were evaluated by 2 radiologists.

Combined T1-T2 mapping of human femoro-tibial cartilage with turbo-mixed imaging at 1.5T.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of Gd-DTPA on cartilage T2 mapping using turbo-mixed (tMIX) imaging, and to show the possible usefulness of the tMIX technique for simultaneously acquiring T1 and T2 information in cartilage.

Materials And Methods: Twenty volunteers underwent MRI of the knee using the tMIX sequence before and after gadolinium administration. T1 and T2 maps were calculated.

Some tips and tricks in reading cervical spine radiographs in trauma patients.

Despite the fact that we are living in the era of spiral CT and multidetector spiral CT allowing us to scan the whole spine in less than a minute and to make high quality multiplanar reformatted images, plain films remain important in clearing the spine of polytraumatised patients. Particularly hemodynamic unstable patients that must be urgently transferred to the operation room need to be rapidly cleared for (cervical) spine lesions, without being transported to the CT unit which is--in most hospitals--located relatively far away from the emergency room and the operation rooms. In these patients, for the time being, spiral CT cannot replace conventional radiographs for the detection of sometimes subtle lesions.

Benign bone tumours of the spine.

A wide variety of primary bone tumours can involve the spine. The imaging features of these lesions are often characteristic. We present an overview of the primary benign bone tumours of the spine.

Case report. Rectus abdominis endometriosis: a report of two cases.

Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of histological normal endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Most frequently endometriosis occurs within the pelvis. Extrapelvic endometriosis is less common, but can involve nearly every organ.

Imaging in trauma of the pelvis and hip region.

Trauma of the pelvis and the hip are frequent and the most common lesions are fractures and dislocations. There are other traumatic lesions around the pelvis, including epiphysiolysis of the femoral head and apophysiolysis of the common muscle insertions around the hip. Cartilaginous lesions and some less frequent fractures are also illustrated in this article.

T2 mapping of human femorotibial cartilage with turbo mixed MR imaging at 1.5 T: feasibility.

The feasibility of a high-spatial-resolution technique for mapping T1 and T2 in articular cartilage in the human knee was evaluated. The technique, turbo mixed magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, is based on a pulse sequence in which inversion-recovery and spin-echo measurements are interleaved. The sequence was first validated in a phantom experiment in which T1 and T2 values obtained with an accepted spectroscopic technique were correlated with those obtained by using a clinical magnetic resonance imager with the turbo mixed technique.

Multiple vertebral fluid-fluid levels.

We present a case of multiple vertebral metastases, with multiple fluid-fluid levels, from a moderately to poorly differentiated carcinoma of unknown origin. We suggest that fluid-fluid levels in multiple vertebral lesions are highly suggestive of bone metastases.

Ultrasound in acute trauma of the ankle and hindfoot.

Ultrasound is a rapid, widely available and inexpensive imaging modality for the evaluation of the ankle and hindfoot. Ultrasonography can be performed in acute, semiacute and chronic conditions. Ankle injuries can be evaluated with ultrasound combined with X-rays.

Necrotizing fasciitis of the leg presenting with chest wall emphysema.

We present the case of a 70-year-old woman with necrotizing fasciitis of the right leg, sepsis and bacteraemia with Escherichia coli. Chest wall emphysema, detected on standard radiograph and the presence of air in the soft-tissue of the foot was the reason for prompt surgical drainage in addition to standard fluid resuscitation and antibiotic therapy. There was no evidence of underlying diabetes mellitus, but unknown chronic renal failure and corticosteroid therapy for rheumatoid arthritis were considered predisposing factors.

Ischiogluteal bursitis: an uncommon type of bursitis.

Ischiogluteal bursitis is a rare, infrequently recognized soft tissue mass of the buttock region. Of importance is the radiological differential diagnosis with other benign and malignant soft-tissue tumors. We describe the imaging findings of bursitis.

Chondroid lipoma of the trunk: MRI appearance and pathologic correlation.

Chondroid lipoma is a rare tumour of adipose tissue, bearing a strikingly close pathologic resemblance to myxoid liposarcoma and extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma. Unlike these malignant tumours, chondroid lipoma has a non-aggressive behaviour and does not require radical treatment. Although repeatedly reported in the proximal extremities and limb girdles, this rare entity may less frequently be observed in the trunk.

The meniscal ossicle revisited.

The meniscal ossicle is an infrequent radiographic finding in humans. It often is mistaken for an intra-articular loose body. MR imaging is the ideal modality to differentiate between these entities.

Ultrastructural MR imaging techniques of the knee articular cartilage: problems for routine clinical application.

The high incidence of cartilage lesions together with new surgical treatment techniques have necessitated the development of noninvasive cartilage evaluation techniques. Although arthroscopy has been the standard for cartilage evaluation, MR imaging has emerged as the imaging method of choice, allowing morphological evaluation of cartilage and cartilage repair tissue, as well as evaluation of its biochemical content. This article deals with current ultrastructural MR imaging techniques for cartilage evaluation, indicating the advantages as well as the drawbacks for routine clinical application.

Fibrolipomatous hamartoma in the foot: atypical MR imaging findings.

Lipomatosis of a nerve is a well-known but uncommon entity mostly seen in the median nerve. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to provide pathognomonic features, obviating the need for diagnostic biopsy. We present a case of lipomatosis of a branch of the medial plantar nerve with an atypical appearance on magnetic resonance imaging.

Emergency medicine radiology: a new challenge in radiology.

Emergency medicine is a recent discipline which relies much on emergency radiology. Emergency physicians are developing specific diagnostic work-ups and therapies for emergency conditions and exploring specific management of the department, attesting of a growing interest in emergency medicine radiology. In this article we give a survey of the history of emergency medicine radiology and we discuss this rather young subdiscipline of radiology.

Role of radiology in lung transplantation.

Lung transplantation has been used successfully since 1983 as treatment for terminal stages of chronic progressive lung disease of various origin. Based on the primary pathology, a single lung transplant, a double lung transplant or a heart-lung transplant is performed. The importance of radiology in detecting postoperative complications is well known.

Appendicitis after appendectomy: CT diagnosis.

This article presents a case of appendicitis 7 years after open appendectomy. Together with the apparent CT findings we discuss the current literature of this issue.