Degenerative Disease: Physiology and Advanced Imaging

Osteoarthrosis (OA) is the most common degenerative condition of joints with aging. The hyaline articular cartilage is affected by both primary and secondary OA. It is essential to learn and understand the anatomy, biomechanics, pathophysiology, and lesions of articular cartilage for proper radiology reporting to aid in the timely management of OA patients. This chapter details the above concepts and discusses the role of various available clinical and research imaging techniques for the assessment of cartilage health, degeneration, and injury, particularly MRI. Many illustrative examples of cartilage abnormalities are shown for the benefit of enhancing reader’s knowledge and understanding of different grading systems used for articular cartilage evaluation and management planning that can help in optimizing patient outcomes.