PA Anatomy: Limbs: Summary

Summary:

1. Fat can be distinguished from other soft tissues on radiography as it is lower in density than muscle, fascia or blood.

2. MRI is useful in evaluating the musculoskeletal system, and can be done with fat suppression to decrease signal from fat, in either T1 or T2 weighted images

3. Complex shaped structures like the shoulder require special views to demonstrate important anatomic structures, such as internal and external rotation views.

4. The skeleton forms in cartilage initially, and is gradually converted to bone, finishing at the end of adolescence-prior to this, growth plates are seen as black lines across bones and should not be mistaken for fractures.

5. Bone scanning can be useful to demonstrate various abnormalities of bone, including metastatic disease or infection.