Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Calcaneus: Normal Anatomy and Application in Calcaneal Fractures

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Abstract
Images obtained from normal volunteers demonstrate highly detailed anatomy of the soft tissue and bony structures near the calcaneus and subtalar joint. Cortical bone, marrow, articular cartilage, ligaments, tendons, muscles, fibrous tissue, vascular bundles, and nerves can be identified. However, images obtained of acute calcaneal fractures were found to offer unsatisfactory depiction of bony anatomy. The presence of small fragments was obscured by a change in normal marrow signal by contusion, hemorrhage, and edema, and by the inability of magnetic resonance (MR) to image small pieces of cortical bone. Only in rare instances might MR be helpful in the acute setting when the location or displacement of tendons cannot be clearly ascertained with computed tomography (CT). MR may prove more useful in the long-term follow-up of healed fractures with persistent pain. In this setting it might be used in the diagnosis of complications such as residual or recurrent tendon displacementdon displacement, tenosynovitis, heel fat integrity, and tarsal tunnel evaluation. However, this paper did not directly compare the efficacy of MR with that of CT in the long term. Therefore, the degree to which MR may eventually supplement or supplant CT is unclear and further study is required before the use of MR can be recommended in the routine clinical follow-up of calcaneal fractures.