Imaging of acute injuries of the articular surfaces (chondral, osteochondral and subchondral fractures)

Fractures involving the articulating surfaces of bone are a common cause of chronic disability after joint injury. Acute fractures of the articular surface typically run parallel to the surface and are confined to the cartilage and/or the immediate subchondral cancellous bone. They should be distinguished from vertical or oblique bone fractures with intra-articular extension. This article reviews the mechanism of acute articular surface injuries, as well as their incidence, clinical presentation, radiologic appearance and treatment. A classification is presented based on direct inspection (arthroscopy) and imaging (especially MRI), emphasizing the distinction between lesions with intact (subchondral impaction and subchondral bone bruises) and disrupted (chondral, osteochondral lesions) cartilage. Hyaline cartilage, subchondral bone plate and subchondral cancellous bone are to be considered an anatomic unit. Subchondral articular surface lesions, osteochondral fractures and solely chondral fractures are different manifestations of impaction injuries that affect the articulating surface. Of the noninvasive imaging modalities, conventional radiography and MRI provide the most relevant information. The appropriate use of short tau inversion recovery, T1-weighted and T2-weighted (turbo) spin-echo as well as gradient-echo sequences, enables MRI to classify the various acute articular surface lesions with great accuracy and provides therapeutic guidance.