Normal meniscal dimensions at different patient ages-MRI evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric orthopedics
• Radiology
• Human anatomy

Background:

• Accurate measurement of pediatric knee structures is crucial for diagnosing conditions like discoid meniscus.
• Understanding normal meniscal and tibial dimensions in children is essential for growth assessment and surgical planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate normal meniscal and tibial dimensions in children using MRI.
• To assess the relationship between these dimensions, age, and gender.
• To compare medial and lateral meniscus measurements.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 186 children's knee MRIs (under 18 years).
• Morphometric measurements of menisci and tibial coverage were performed.
• Exclusion of cases with prior knee surgery or joint disease.

Main Results:

• Meniscal dimensions generally increased with age (p < 0.001), except for coronal meniscal width (p = 0.084).
• Tibial coverage by menisci decreased with age (p < 0.001).
• Significant differences were found in medial versus lateral meniscus dimensions.

Conclusions:

• Meniscal dimensions increase with age, with coronal width being a potential indicator for discoid meniscus in children.
• Adult size criteria for discoid meniscus may be applicable to pediatric cases.
• Tibial dimensions increase at a faster rate than meniscal dimensions with age.