MRI description of knee medial collateral ligament abnormalities in the absence of trauma: edema related to osteoarthritis and medial meniscal tears

• Published in: Magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 209 - 214
• Main Authors: Wen, Dennis Y, Propeck, Tim, Kane, Steven M, Godbee, Mitchell T, Rall, Kenneth L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.02.2007
• Subjects: Adult; Edema - etiology; Edema - pathology; Female; Humans; Knee Injuries - pathology; Knee MRI; Male; Medial collateral ligament; Medial Collateral Ligament, Knee - pathology; Meniscal tear; Menisci, Tibial - pathology; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis, Knee - complications; Osteoarthritis, Knee - pathology; Radiology; Retrospective Studies; Knee MRI; Meniscal tear; Osteoarthritis; Medial collateral ligament
• ISSN: 0730-725X; 1873-5894
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2006.09.014

Abstract A retrospective case series regarding the knees of 12 adult patients with MRI abnormalities of the medial collateral ligament (MCL), but without clinical history of trauma to the MCL, were collected and compared with six knee MR images from patients with clinical traumatic injuries to their MCLs. The MR images were studied for the extent of edema of the MCL, as well as other associated findings. Edema of the MCL on MRI could be found in three distinct categories of patients: (a) those with trauma to the MCL, which was an expected finding; (b) those without trauma but with medial compartment osteoarthritis; and (c) those without trauma but with degenerative medial meniscal tears. The clinical significance, if any, of the edema found in MCLs without trauma remains unclear. Atraumatic MCL edema may serve as a marker for medial knee compartment osteoarthritis or for a degenerative medial meniscal tear and should not be confused with traumatically induced MCL injuries, although this distinction can often be difficult to make based on MRI findings alone.