Magnetic resonance imaging of benign bone lesions: cysts and tumors

A benign bone lesion may have a typical appearance on plain radiographs. This is the case with benign cortical defects and osteochondroma. With most other lesions, cross-sectional imaging is needed to complete the study of the tumor. The nidus of osteoid osteoma is well demonstrated on computed tomography, but magnetic resonance imaging also will show the nidus in most cases. Magnetic resonance imaging is considered the modality of choice for evaluation of other benign musculoskeletal lesions because it is highly sensitive to changes in the signal intensity of bone marrow and adjacent soft tissues. It provides useful information for diagnosis of the lesion as in primary or secondary aneurysmal bone cyst, chondroblastoma, osteoblastoma, fibrous dysplasia, and osteofibrous dysplasia, and it helps differentiate these lesions from osteomyelitis, Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, and stress fracture. Bone scanning is most useful for depicting multiple silent lesions as may be seen in multiple osteochondromatosis, nonossifying fibromas, and polyostotic fibrous dysplasia.