title: MRI of knee ligament injury and reconstruction.
abstract: Knee ligament instability may lead to meniscal and chondral damage, resulting in early osteoarthritis. Due to its superior soft tissue contrast and avoidance of harmful ionizing radiation, MRI has become the most important imaging modality for early recognition of structural defects of the knee joint. This review aims to the understanding of MRI appearances of knee ligament structures associated with knee instability, and to review the common patterns of altered knee mechanics that lead to ligament failure. Normal anatomy of the knee ligaments, pathologic conditions, and postsurgical appearances of the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and posterolateral corner are described.
authors.affiliation: The MRI Research Laboratory, Department of Radiology and Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Nadja A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Farshad-Amacker
authors.forename: Hollis G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Potter
mesh_terms: D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000473:pathology*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000473:pathology; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D017888:Medial Collateral Ligament, Knee / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D016119:Posterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: MRI; anterior cruciate liagment; instability; knee; ligament; posterior cruciate ligament