“Incidentalomas” on MR imaging examinations of the adult knee. A pictorial essay

Konstantinos Pikoulas, Georgios Giannikouris, Ioanna Staikidou, Georgios Mantzikopoulos

Abstract


Musculoskeletal radiologist’s practice includes a great deal of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of the knee. The patient is referred for MRI mainly because of knee pain. The examination may reveal the cause of pain, but there may be additional findings discovered, that are not associated with the patient’s symptoms at all. These incidental findings may be referred to as “incidentalomas”. Although, by definition, incidentalomas are not the cause of patient’s symptoms and signs at the time of their discovery, some of these lesions may be misinterpreted, may have other clinical implications or may eventually become symptomatic. The purpose of this pictorial essay is twofold. First to present incidentalomas that are clinically unremarkable and the diagnosis is clear. Second to alert the radiologist on the incidentalomas that may have clinically significant consequences, such as tumours with malignant potential or increased risk of fractures, abnormal muscles in close proximity with vital structures, or findings indicative of systemic disease.


Keywords


MRI, knee, bone neoplasm, muscle, tendon-ligament, soft tissue

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36162/hjr.v6i2.394

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