Jg. Waldschmidt et al., IN-VITRO AND IN-VIVO MR-IMAGING OF HYALINE CARTILAGE - ZONAL ANATOMY,IMAGING PITFALLS, AND PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS, Radiographics, 17(6), 1997, pp. 1387-1402
Hyaline cartilage plays an essential role in the maintenance of normal
synovial joint function by reducing friction and distributing loads.
Histologic analysis of hyaline cartilage reveals zonal variation in ce
llular morphology, proteoglycan concentration, and collagen fiber size
and orientation. High-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging reve
als an analogous laminar anatomy that is often visible on clinical ima
ges obtained with proper attention to technique. In vitro and in vivo
pulse sequences show three distinct laminae: a hypointense superficial
lamina, a hyperintense intermediate lamina, and a heterogeneous deep
lamina that consists of alternating hyperintense and hypointense bands
perpendicular to the subchondral bone. Imaging pitfalls include magic
angle effects, truncation artifact, partial volume effect, regional a
natomic variation, chemical shift, and magnetic susceptibility effects
. Pathologic conditions that affect articular cartilage include chondr
omalacia patellae, osteoarthritis, and localized traumatic lesions. Al
though detection of early cartilage disease remains elusive, MR imagin
g can demonstrate intermediate and advanced lesions.