Echocardiogram of joints is normal
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The contours of the bone structures look like hyperechoic lines with a distal acoustical shadow. Hyaline cartilage, located on the articulating surface of the joints, consists of collagen, glycosaminoglycans, glycoproteins and elastin.
With ultrasound, young people always look like a hypo- or anechogenous linear band-like structure on the joint surface.
The thickness of the hyaline cartilage is easy to measure if there is a small amount of synovial fluid in the joint cavity. Echogenicity of cartilage increases with age, and also with the development of chondrocalcinosis. On the radiographs, hyaline cartilage is not visible, because it is transparent to X-rays.
Currently, MR imaging is the main way to study hyaline cartilage. MR-tomograms obtained with the help of gradient sequences provide practically anatomical information about the cartilage.
In ultrasound examination, articular cartilage looks hyperechoic due to a large number of differently oriented collagen fibers. Menisci serve as a typical example of hyperechoic articular cartilage.
The synovial membrane lining the joints. It is involved in the production of synovial fluid, which provides food to hyaline cartilage. Normal synovium is difficult to distinguish on conventional MP-tomograms, although it can be seen on T2-weighted images using the FLASH technique with contrast enhancement. The rich content of iron in the synovial membrane is manifested by the shortening of the signal for all sequences.
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