title: Knee joint examinations by magnetic resonance imaging: The correlation of pathology, age, and sex.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence and coexistence of multiple knee joint pathologies and the distribution of knee joint pathologies according to age and sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was performed using the clinical data of patients evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee joint. Data from 308 patients examined between August 2002 and July 2003 were included into this study. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the pathological findings and the age and sex of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ages of the patients ranged between 1 and 74 years (mean: 43.3 years). Age was significantly correlated with meniscal degeneration and tears, medial collateral ligament degeneration, parameniscal cyst, and chondromalacia patellae. There was a significant correlation between male gender and anterior cruciate ligament injury. Meniscal injury was significantly correlated with bursitis, as well as medial collateral ligament injury. Bone bruise was significantly correlated with medial collateral ligament injury, lateral collateral ligament injury, Baker's cyst, and anterior cruciate ligament injury. Chondromalacia patellae was significantly correlated with anterior cruciate ligament injury, patellae alta, and osteochondral lesion. Bursitis (in 53.2% of the patients) followed by grade-II meniscal degeneration (in 43% of the patients) were the most common knee pathologies observed by MRI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI findings of select knee pathologies are significantly correlated with each other and the age and sex of the patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Yuzuncu Yil University School of Medicine, Van, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Avcu
authors.forename: Ersan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.forename: Ihsan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Akpinar
authors.forename: Mehmet Deniz
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eresov
authors.forename: Tugrul
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Biren