MR Imaging of the Extensor Mechanism

Josef Kramer; Lawrence M White; Michael P Recht

doi:10.1055/s-0029-1242191

Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology, Table of Contents

Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2009; 13(4): 384-401
DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1242191

MR Imaging of the Extensor Mechanism

Josef Kramer¹ , Lawrence M. White² , Michael P. Recht³

¹Inst. f. CT & MRI at Schillerpark, Linz, Austria
²Joint Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital, University Health Network, and Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
³New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Sports injuries of the knee involving the extensor mechanism are common. Specific conditions additionally affect the extensor mechanism in adolescents during growth and maturation, and in older patients as a result of degeneration. Prior to the advent of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the specific anatomical-pathological cause of anterior knee pain was often uncertain, with diagnosis limited to clinical examination and conventional radiographic assessment. MR imaging allows for the accurate and specific diagnosis of pathology of the extensor mechanism, impacting on decision making and clinical treatment of such conditions. In this article the anatomy, normal MR appearance, and common pathological conditions of the extensor mechanism of the knee are described.

KEYWORDS

Anterior knee pain - extensor mechanism - MR imaging

Full Text

References

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Josef KramerM.D. Ph.D.

Inst. f. CT & MRI at Schillerpark, Rainerstrasse 6-8

4020 Linz, Austria

Email: kramer@ctmri.at