Question
Identify the bodies as “marked by a red arrow” in the picture below ?
A. Loose bodies.
B. Dense bodies.
C. Weber bodies.
D. None of the above.
Show Answer
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Correct Answer » A Explanation |
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Loose bodies in the knee joint are small fragments of cartilage or bone that move freely around the knee in joint fluid, or synovium. They can hinder the joint moment by getting caught in flexion and extension movements. The loose bodies can vary in size from a few millimeters (such as the size of a small pill) to a few centimeters (the size of a quarter). The fragments can lead to damage to the articular cartilage, causing osteoarthritis.
Symptoms
- The feeling of something moving in knee.
- Knee locking as though something is blocking it.
Causes
- Injury to cartilage during trauma or sports can lead to the formation of a loose body.
- Osteoarthritis or Charcot’s disease, but the secondary cause is direct or indirect trauma.
- Fibrinous loose bodies in case of inflammatory conditions of knee.
- Synovial chondromatosis (also called synovial osteochondromatosis) is rare; synovium grows abnormally and produces nodules made of cartilage.
Examination and diagnosis
X-ray: A loose body is typically diagnosed with an x-ray. In most cases, the traumatic loose body has a bone chip with it or a big chunk of cartilage easily seen on an x-ray.
MRI: The best way to see the location and character of loose body is with an MRI. When the loose body is just cartilage or in the case of synovial chondromatosis, a MRI is the best non radiation diagnostic tool to asses the whole knee joint. It is a useful preoperative tool to see size, number and location of the loose bodies.
CT scan: This is rarely used but can give details about the loose body when fracture or bone fragments are expected.