MRI of residual red bone marrow in the distal femur of healthy subjects

BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study is to examine the correlation of the residual red bone marrow areas of distal femoral metaphysis with the age, gender, weight and hemoglobin (hgb) values; evaluate the results, and comprehend the importance of these residual areas in the light of the results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 140 nonsmoking patients between the ages of 26 and 72 (92 women, 48 men) who had knee MR examinations were included in the study. The residual red bone marrow areas in the distal femoral metaphysis in MR images were examined by a radiologist. The areas were separated into grades according to their sizes. The hemoglobin values of the cases were measured. The size of the residual red bone marrow area and the age, gender, weight and hemoglobin values of the cases were compared by using the Tukey and Chi-Square Tests. RESULTS: Although no significant differences were observed between the mean ages, weights and hemoglobin values of the grades, a significant difference was detected between the gender distribution The male group had less residual red bone marrow in the distal femoral metaphysis than the female group (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: We observed that the hypointensities due to residual red bone marrow observed in the T1WS of the distal femoral metaphysis are not related with the age, weight and hemoglobin values. No grade 2 and grade 3 patient was detected in male group. We observed that these hypointense areas showed difference according to the gender variable; however, were not affected by the hemoglobin values over certain levels