Current status of musculoskeletal interventional radiology.

This article details many of the latest developments in the field of musculoskeletal interventional radiology. Some of the topics included in this discussion are percutaneous biopsy of musculoskeletal lesions, automated percutaneous discectomy, facet joint arthrography, percutaneous vertebroplasty, and percutaneous drainage of abscesses.

[Bony involvement of the calcaneum in sarcoidosis. A case report]. / Atteinte osseuse du calcanéum au cours de la sarcoïdose. A propos d'un cas.

Bone lesions of sarcoidosis occur in 10 to 15% of the cases, most often involving the extremities. These frequently corticosteroid-dependent lesions worsen the prognosis of the disease. We report a case of sarcoidosis of 14 years duration in a 58-year old woman who presented with a bone lesion strictly localized to the calcaneum. To our knowledge, such lesion has not previously been reported.

[Ligaments of the knee]. / Les ligaments du genou.

The authors study the various ligaments of the knee and, for each one, the anatomy, mechanisms of injury, clinical diagnosis, indications for imaging (plain x-rays, arthroscopy, MRI). The anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament are best visualised by MRI. The tibial collateral ligament and fibular collateral ligament are also well visualised by MRI. The value of the posteromedial and posterolateral angle points, stabilising functional structures, is emphasised together with the important diagnostic distinction between isolated ligamentous lesions and associated lesions. MRI constitutes the best imaging technique for assessment of the lesions. It completes the clinical examination and should be performed early.

[Radiological anatomy of the hip in adults]. / Radio-anatomie de la hanche de l'adulte.

The authors review the embryology of the hip joint with its pathological implications. The radioanatomy is presented in an elementary fashion, with the appearance of each component as seen on the various imaging techniques (conventional X-rays, CT scan, MRI). The authors also describe the views used in conventional radiology and the invasive techniques of arthrography and arthroscanning.

Acute vertebral collapse due to osteoporosis or malignancy: appearance on unenhanced and gadolinium-enhanced MR images.

PURPOSE: To distinguish malignant from osteoporotic acute vertebral collapses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-three osteoporotic and 30 malignant vertebral collapses were studied in 51 patients (aged 33-88 years) with T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images (n=93), gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images (n=72), and T2-weighted images (n=53). RESULTS: Four findings were suggestive of osteoporosis: retropulsion of a bone fragment (10 osteoporotic cases vs 0 malignant cases), preservation of normal signal intensity on T1-weighted images (43 vs four), return to normal signal intensity after gadolinium injection (42 vs four) with horizontal bandlike patterns, and isointense vertebrae on T2-weighted images (28 vs two). Six findings were suggestive of malignancy: convex posterior cortex (21 malignant cases vs four osteoporotic cases), epidural mass (24 vs 0), diffuse low signal intensity within the vertebral body on T1-weighted images (23 vs 12) and in the pedicles (24 vs four), high or inhomogeneous signal intensity after gadolinium injection (17 vs 0) and on T2-weighted images (17 vs 0). CONCLUSION: Gadolinium-enhanced and unenhanced MR images are useful in the differentiation of vertebral collapses.