Musculoskeletal applications of magnetic resonance imaging

Article Abstract:

The most important quality of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is its ability to visualize the soft tissues of the body, such as muscles, ligaments, tendons and other connective tissue. Over the past five years MRI has become a major tool for diagnosing musculoskeletal, that is, muscle and bone abnormalities. MRI provides images of multiple planes of body structures and subjects patients to radiation. Because MRI measures radio signals that originate within the body it offers information about the chemical environment of bodily structures. The uses of MRI in musculoskeletal diagnoses are discussed, and guidelines for evaluating specific clinical abnormalities are presented. MRI can be used to evaluate various abnormal bone masses and distinguish among different soft tissue masses. Bone infections such as myositis and osteomyelitis can be differentiated from bone malignancy (cancer) by means of MRI. MRI is also used to follow-up on the effects of trauma on bone and soft tissue, and it provides a noninvasive method for identifying tears in muscles and ligaments, thereby serving as an alternative to arthroscopy, the surgical examination of structures within the knee joint. Investigating joints for dead tissue caused by lack of blood supply (avascular necrosis) is another common use of MRI, especially for avascular necrosis of the hip. Carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful disorder of the wrist and hand, and rotator cuff tears, a common shoulder problem usually related to trauma, can be diagnosed by MRI. MRI is probably the best diagnostic tool for evaluating abnormalities in the temporomandibular joint in the jaw. Because MRI is expensive and may not be readily available, it requires judicious use by the physician. However, in many cases physicians can use MRI to make a diagnosis earlier in the disease process and prevent patients' having to undergo the discomfort, time and expense of additional diagnostic procedures.

Research, Abnormalities, Musculoskeletal system, American Medical Association. Council on Scientific Affairs

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Hepatic hemangioma with normal angiograms: three case reports

Article Abstract:

Cavernous hemangioma, a benign tumor of the dilated blood vessels, is the most common benign tumor of the liver with an overall incidence of three percent and prevalence two to four times greater in women than in men. Symptoms include swelling of the abdomen, a discrete mass, and right-sided upper quadrant abdominal pain. Some patients may experience liver failure, jaundice and sudden abdominal pain resulting from rupture of the hemangioma. The diagnosis of cavernous hemangioma can be made by various radiological techniques. Ultrasonography, the use of sound waves to obtain images of tissues and organs inside the body, has been used to detect a specific pattern of posterior enhancement, which is associated with about 77 percent of hemangioma cases. Other imaging techniques include computed tomography, an X-ray technique showing images of structures in a plane of tissue, and magnetic resonance imaging, a procedure using electromagnetic energy. Angiography, the X-ray of a blood vessel after injection of a radiopaque substance, has been an important tool in the diagnosis of liver tumors, although three cases of cavernous hemangioma with normal angiograms are reported. A more sensitive method for diagnosing small lesions includes technetium Tc 99m-labeled red blood cell scanning with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The most common treatment for symptomatic hemangioma is surgical removal of the tumor, although other methods of treatment such as radiation are discussed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Case studies, Angiography, Tomography, Hemangioma, Liver tumors

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Clinical and MRI correlates of cerebral palsy: The European Cerebral Palsy Study

Article Abstract:

The European Cerebral Palsy Study examined the correlates of cerebral palsy (CP) in a population sample and compared clinical findings with information available from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain studies, with an aim to understand the target of potential preventive strategies. MRI findings suggest that obstetric mishaps, maternal infections, multiple pregnancies and infant stroke may be the causes of CP in children.

Europe, Cerebral palsy, Clinical report

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