SONOGRAPHIC ANATOMY OF THE SUPRASPINATUS TENDON AND ADJACENT STRUCTURES

Objective. To depict the detailed sonographic pattern of the normal su praspinatus tendon and adjacent structures. Pathologic findings in the se structures are well described, but knowledge of their sonographic a natomy is relatively limited. Design. A new position for sonography of the shoulder was adopted that permits good stretching and a large fie ld of view of the supraspinatus tendon. The right shoulders of 12 heal thy adult volunteers and of a 10-year-old boy were imaged. Frozen-fram e images of ten standard sections were obtained, anatomic details were sought, and a sonographic normal pattern was reconstructed. Results a nd conclusions. The study allowed sonographic description of new detai ls, including the presence of two distinct tendons of the supraspinatu s. Such a reference normal pattern may be helpful in clinical practice for separating the various components and recognizing artifacts or ot her possible causes of a misdiagnosis.