Medial fold of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament on Coronal Scans of Knee MRI: A Secondary Sign of Tear?

Abstract

range, 3-88 years) were included in this study. Retrospectively, 173 knee MRIs were reviewed by two musculoskeletal radiologists. In all cases, assessment included evaluation of the medial fold of PCL, injuries of other ligaments, the menisci and popliteus tendon. An imaginary line was drawn from the medial femoral condyle to the lateral intercondylar tubercle of the tibia in coronal proton-weighted images. When PCL crossed the imaginary line, the medial fold of the PCL was considered to be positive. We also analysed the relationships between the medial fold of PCL and other injuries using Pearson’s chi-square test. P values of less than 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant.

Results Of 173 patients, 45 with a medial fold of PCL (25.0%) were identified on coronal PD-weighted MRI. The medial fold of PCL was identified in three (6.7%) of 45 patients who had no injuries. Forty-two (93.3%) of 45 patients had injuries. There was no comment about the medial fold of the PCL in all the surgical reports. The medial fold of PCL showed statistically significant association with a tear of the PCL (p=0.012), and popliteus tendon (p=0.016). However, other injuries showed no statistical significance.

Conclusion The medial fold of the PCL on coronal MRI is thought to have a significant relationship to the tear of the PCL or popliteus tendon.; Objective The purposes of this study are to evaluate the incidence of the medial fold of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and to reveal the relationship between the medial fold of the PCL and other injuries through the knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Material and Methods From August 2010 to February 2011, a total of 173 consecutive patients (98 women, 75 men; mean age, 45.0 years