Objective
The aim of this study was to elucidate possible elements in minimal amounts of fluid
(MF) in the temporomandibular joint by analyzing signal intensities in T2-weighted
and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance (MR) images.
Study Design
Fifteen joints (15 patients) with MF were subjected to MR imaging to obtain T2-weighted
and FLAIR images. Regions of interest were placed on MF, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF),
and gray matter (GM), and their signal intensities were measured on both images. The
signal intensity ratio (SIR) obtained by the signal intensity of GM between MF and
CSF was compared in T2-weighted and FLAIR images.
Results
The average SIR of MF was lower than that of CSF on T2-weighted images, whereas it
was higher on FLAIR images. The average suppression ratio of the signal intensity
was lower for MF (24.1%) than for CSF (71.4%).
Conclusions
MF may contain elements such as protein that are capable of inducing a shortened T1
relaxation time on MR images.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
September 21,
2012
Received in revised form:
September 13,
2012
Received:
May 25,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
