A meniscus causing painful snapping of the elbow joint: MR imaging with arthroscopic and histologic correlation.
Snapping of the elbow joint can cause pain. We report a case of painful snapping elbow produced by an interposed meniscus in the radiohumeral joint in a 20-year-old man. The MR arthrogram demonstrated a meniscus-like tissue interposed between the radial head and humeral capitellum. The MR-arthrographic findings were well correlated with surgical findings. The location and appearance of the meniscus-like tissue was similar to that of meniscus in the knee joint. Histologic findings of the excised meniscus-like tissue showed a typical presentation of fibrocartilage. A meniscus may exist in the elbow joint and can be a rare cause of painful snapping elbow. MR arthrography is helpful for identifying the snapping tissue in the elbow joint.
Huang
Guo-Shu
GS
Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, 325, Section 2, Cheng-Kung Road, Neihu 114, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. gsh5@seed.net.tw
Lee
Chian-Her
CH
Lee
Herng-Sheng
HS
Chen
Cheng-Yu
CY
D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001175:Arthrography; D001182:Arthroscopy; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D051445:Fibrocartilage / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013016:Sound; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013583:Synovial Membrane / Q000473:pathology*
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