The role of mri in the early diagnosis of unilateral chondral overloading injuries of the athletic knee

Articular cartilage is essential for the normal use of the diarthrodial joints. Traumatic injury such as chondral orosteochondral fractures interfere with the normal function of this tissue. Conventional radiology, standard arthrography, and computer tomography arthrography do not allow visualization of the internal chondral architecture. Superior soft tissue contrast and direct visualization of the articular cartilage make magnetic resonance (MR) the most promising noninvasive method for the evaluation of articular cartilage injury. The majority of the research involves the knee, but with this technique it is possible to evaluate a large number of articular joints. This report describes the basic techniques of MR studies for the evaluation of the articular cartilage and the subchondral lesions.