(Fig 1-B.06) Partial-thickness Radial Meniscal Tears

https://youtu.be/EzEwAo6-UvE

https://youtu.be/nKQsItyKAtM

📌 What is a Radial Tear?

• A radial tear runs perpendicular to the tibial plateau and the meniscus’s long axis, transecting the longitudinal collagen bundles.

 

📌 Significance of Radial Tears:

• Unlike horizontal and longitudinal tears, radial tears significantly disrupt meniscal hoop strength.

• The deeper the tear, the more it impacts the biomechanical function of the menisci.

 

📍 Common Locations:

• Medial meniscus’s posterior horn.

• Junction of the body and anterior horn in the lateral meniscus.

 

🔬 Radiologic Signs to Detect Radial Tears:

1. Truncated Triangle Sign:

• Truncation of the free edge, usually indicating a partial-thickness tear.

2. Ghost Meniscus Sign:

• High signal in place of the normally low signal posterior horn, suggesting a full-thickness tear.

3. Cleft Sign:

• Can indicate both longitudinal and radial tears, depending on the tear’s location relative to the imaging plane.

4. Marching Cleft Sign:

• Appears as a progressing cleft away from the free edge on contiguous MR imaging sections, especially at the junction of the horn and body.

 

💡 Radial tears are crucial in musculoskeletal radiology, affecting the knee’s biomechanical integrity.

 

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