ABSTRACT
Evolution has left us with hinge-like knee joints exquisitely vulnerable to damage. As a result, sports fans are familiar with the sight of a favorite athlete crumpled in agony from a knee injury, and many amateur athletes suffer similar injuries (Figure 8.1). None of the imaging techniques we have considered thus far can provide images with the combination of high spatial resolution and excellent soft tissue contrast required to permit the study of a wounded joint. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can image even soft tissues, with results as crisply detailed as drawings from an anatomy text. MRI collects its maps of the body noninvasively, so it can be used both to diagnose an injury and then monitor the process of healing and recovery that can determine an athlete's fate.
