MRI OF NORMAL ACHILLES-TENDON

To investigate the normal internal structure of tendons 11 volunteers with clinical evidence of tendinopathy were examined using conventiona l spin-echo T1- T2- and proton-density weighted sequences. The Achille s tendon was chosen because of its high frequency of injury in athleti c activity, large size, superficial position and because it is oriente d nearly parallel to the static magnetic field, therefore minimizing t he ''magic angle phenomenon''. The tendons exhibited areas of slighly increased signal in four T1-weighted and in all but one proton-density -weighted scans. No intratendinous signal was detected in 12-weighted images. the possible origin of these findings is discussed. We conclud e that the knowledge of these normal signals may be useful to avoid in correctly diagnosing as pathological.