Imaging the Glenoid Labrum and Labral Tears. 2016

Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
From the Department of Radiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium (T.D.C.); Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego Medical Center, 200 W Arbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92103 (S.S.N., C.B.C.); Department of Radiology, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia (M.T.); and Radiology Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, Calif (C.B.C.).

The shoulder joint is the most unstable articulation in the entire human body. While this certainly introduces vulnerability to injury, it also confers the advantage of broad range of motion. There are many elements that work in combination to offset the inherent instability of the glenohumeral joint, but the glenoid labrum is perhaps related most often. Broadly, clinical unidirectional instability can be subdivided into anterior and posterior instability, which usually raise concern for anteroinferior and posteroinferior labral lesions, respectively. In the special case of superior labral damage, potential dislocation is blocked by structures that include the acromion; hence, while damage elsewhere commonly manifests as clinical instability, damage to the superior labrum is often described by the term microinstability. In this particular case, one of the radiologist's main concerns should be classic superior labral anteroposterior lesions. The glenoid labrum is also subject to a wide range of normal variants that can mimic labral tears. Knowledge of these variants is central to interpreting an imaging study of the labrum because misdiagnosis of labral variants as tears can lead to superfluous surgical procedures and decreased shoulder mobility. This article reviews labral anatomy and normal labral variants, describes their imaging features, and discusses how to discriminate normal variants from labral tears. Specific labral pathologic lesions are described per labral quadrant (anteroinferior, posteroinferior, and superior), and imaging features are described in detail. Online supplemental material is available for this article. ©RSNA, 2016.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007089 Image Enhancement Improvement of the quality of a picture by various techniques, including computer processing, digital filtering, echocardiographic techniques, light and ultrastructural MICROSCOPY, fluorescence spectrometry and microscopy, scintigraphy, and in vitro image processing at the molecular level. Image Quality Enhancement,Enhancement, Image,Enhancement, Image Quality,Enhancements, Image,Enhancements, Image Quality,Image Enhancements,Image Quality Enhancements,Quality Enhancement, Image,Quality Enhancements, Image
D008279 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques. Chemical Shift Imaging,MR Tomography,MRI Scans,MRI, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Image,Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional,Magnetization Transfer Contrast Imaging,NMR Imaging,NMR Tomography,Tomography, NMR,Tomography, Proton Spin,fMRI,Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,Imaging, Chemical Shift,Proton Spin Tomography,Spin Echo Imaging,Steady-State Free Precession MRI,Tomography, MR,Zeugmatography,Chemical Shift Imagings,Echo Imaging, Spin,Echo Imagings, Spin,Functional MRI,Functional MRIs,Image, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, NMR,Imaging, Spin Echo,Imagings, Chemical Shift,Imagings, Spin Echo,MRI Scan,MRIs, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Images,Resonance Image, Magnetic,Scan, MRI,Scans, MRI,Shift Imaging, Chemical,Shift Imagings, Chemical,Spin Echo Imagings,Steady State Free Precession MRI
D003937 Diagnosis, Differential Determination of which one of two or more diseases or conditions a patient is suffering from by systematically comparing and contrasting results of diagnostic measures. Diagnoses, Differential,Differential Diagnoses,Differential Diagnosis
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000070599 Shoulder Injuries Injuries involving the SHOULDERS and SHOULDER JOINT. SLAP Tears,Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior Injuries,Injuries, Shoulder,Injury, Shoulder,SLAP Tear,Shoulder Injury,Tear, SLAP,Tears, SLAP
D000070636 Rotator Cuff Injuries Injuries to the ROTATOR CUFF of the shoulder joint. Glenoid Labral Tears,Rotator Cuff Tears,Rotator Cuff Tendinitis,Rotator Cuff Tendinosis,Cuff Injury, Rotator,Glenoid Labral Tear,Injury, Rotator Cuff,Labral Tear, Glenoid,Labral Tears, Glenoid,Rotator Cuff Injury,Rotator Cuff Tear,Rotator Cuff Tendinitides,Rotator Cuff Tendinoses,Tear, Glenoid Labral,Tear, Rotator Cuff,Tears, Rotator Cuff,Tendinitis, Rotator Cuff,Tendinoses, Rotator Cuff,Tendinosis, Rotator Cuff
D012421 Rupture Forcible or traumatic tear or break of an organ or other soft part of the body. Ruptures
D012785 Shoulder Joint The articulation between the head of the HUMERUS and the glenoid cavity of the SCAPULA. Glenohumeral Joint,Glenoid Labrum,Glenohumeral Joints,Joint, Glenohumeral,Joint, Shoulder,Joints, Glenohumeral,Joints, Shoulder,Labrum, Glenoid,Shoulder Joints
D056888 Patient Positioning Moving a patient into a specific position or POSTURE to facilitate examination, surgery, or for therapeutic purposes. Patient Positionings,Positioning, Patient,Positionings, Patient

Related Publications

Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
November 2004, Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
July 1994, Orthopaedic review,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
September 2014, Seminars in musculoskeletal radiology,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
December 2020, JSES international,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
January 1993, The American journal of sports medicine,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
August 2017, Skeletal radiology,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
April 1991, Radiology,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
January 2003, Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
January 2007, Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine,
Tineke De Coninck, and Steven S Ngai, and Monica Tafur, and Christine B Chung
December 1993, AJR. American journal of roentgenology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!