MR imaging of the knee: incidental osseous lesions

Abstract

The knee joint remains the articulation most frequently assessed by MR imaging, and osseous tumor and tumor-like lesions are not uncommon incidental imaging findings. This article reviews the most commonly encountered incidental lesions, emphasizing the characteristic MR imaging features. It is intended not as a complete review of the imaging findings associated with these lesions but as a summary, highlighting the MR imaging features that are most useful in suggesting a specific diagnosis. The authors organize incidental lesions into the following broad categories: cartilaginous, fibro-osseous, and degenerative. They do not address those lesions that are typically symptomatic and, as a result, likely to be directly related to the patients' clinical presentation and subsequent imaging.