The growing skeleton: MR imaging appearances of developing cartilage.

摘要

Developing hyaline cartilage at ends of long bones consists of the epiphyseal, physeal, and articular cartilage components, each of which has specific imaging characteristics that reflect biochemical and macromolecular composition. Standard MR imaging protocols used in adults do not provide sufficient information when used for children, and MR imaging techniques need to be tailored to the developmental stage of the child. This article presents the biochemical and histologic features of normal hyaline cartilage and its MR imaging characteristics, followed by a practical approach to optimizing imaging protocols for cartilage imaging. Finally, common abnormalities and advanced hyaline cartilage imaging techniques are described.