Osteoarthritis of the metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal joints is one of the major causes of poor performance in horses. Delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) may be a useful technique for noninvasively quantifying articular cartilage damage in horses. The purpose of this study was to describe dGEMRIC characteristics of the distal metacarpus3/metatarsus3 (Mc3/Mt3) articular cartilage in 20 cadaver specimens collected from normal Thoroughbred horses. For each specimen, T1 relaxation time was measured from scans acquired precontrast and at 30, 60, 120, and 180 min post intraarticular injection of Gd-DTPA(2-) (dGEMRIC series). For each scan, T1 relaxation times were calculated using five regions of interest (sites 1-5) in the cartilage. For all sites, a significant decrease in T1 relaxation times occurred between precontrast scans and 30, 60, 120, and 180 min scans of the dGEMRIC series (P < 0.0001). A significant increase in T1 relaxation times occurred between 60 and 180 min and between 120 and 180 min post Gd injection for all sites. For sites 1-4, a significant increase in T1 relaxation time occurred between 30 and 180 min postinjection (P < 0.05). Sites 1-5 differed significantly among one another for all times (P < 0.0001). Findings from this cadaver study indicated that dGEMRIC using intraarticular Gd-DTPA(2-) is a feasible technique for measuring and mapping changes in T1 relaxation times in equine metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal joint cartilage. Optimal times for postcontrast scans were 60-120 min. Future studies are needed to determine whether these findings are reproducible in live horses.

Purpose: To determine whether femoral epicondylar width (FECW) obtained from either magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or plain radiographs could be used to predict anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) length. A secondary purpose was to develop a formula to use maximum FECW on either MRI or plain radiographs to estimate ACL length preoperatively. Methods: The MRIs and radiographs of 40 patients (mean age 41.0 years), with no apparent knee pathology, surgery, or trauma were included. The ACL length was measured on MRI followed by FECW on both MRI and radiograph of the same patient. This allowed the development of equations able to predict ACL length according to the FECW measured on either an MRI or radiograph. Results: The mean ACL length was 40.6 AE 3.6 mm. FECW measured on both MRIs and radiographs was sufficient to predict ACL length. Pearson's correlations revealed a high positive relationship between ACL length and FECW on MRI (r ¼ 0.89, P < .0001) and ACL length and FECW on radiograph (r ¼ 0.83, P < .0001). The coefficient of determination (R 2) was calculated to be MRI: R 2 ¼ 0.78 and radiograph: R 2 ¼ 0.68 and confirmed that FECW measured on both MRI and radiograph were sufficient to predict ACL length. Based on these models, ACL length can be predicted by FECW using the following formulas: MRI: ACL length ¼ 0.47 (FECW) þ 1.93 and radiograph: ACL length ¼ 0.31 (FECW) þ 11.33. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that FECW measured on either MRI or anteroposterior radiograph could reliably estimate ACL length on a sagittal MRI. There was a high positive relationship between ACL length and FECW on both MRI and radiographs, although MRIs do predict ACL length more reliably. Clinical Relevance: Preoperative ACL length assessment, using FECW on MRI or radiograph, is useful in graft selection and in preventing inadequate graft harvesting for ACL reconstruction, especially if an individualized anatomical approach is pursued.

Meralgia paresthetica is a neuropathy of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Traditionally, the diagnosis is based on classical symptoms and signs. In cases where there is a diagnostic dilemma, the role of magnetic resonance imaging has been to exclude other causes for the patient’s presentation, as the small extraspinal peripheral nerves were not well visualised at imaging. The development of 3-Tesla magnetic resonance neurography, however, has made pathology of these nerves more conspicuous.

CASE REPORT ere are few reported cases of cyclist's nodule in females. e condition has thus lent itself to synonyms such as third, supernumerary or accessory testicle. We report the imaging ndings of a perineal nodule in a 29-year-old female patient who is a known cyclist, and discuss the di erential diagnosis.