Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Native Hip Joint

A broad spectrum of hip pathological conditions, including ischemic, traumatic, inflammatory, arthritic, and neoplastic etiologies, can be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Alteration of fluid content in tissue can be visualized by fluidsensitive sequences such as T2, proton density, and short tau inversion recovery (STIR). Anatomy, joint alignment, marrow abnormalities, and fractures are best analyzed on a T1 sequence. Contrast agent improves the visual discrimination between the joint fluid and the capsular, labral, and osteochondral structures and shows a distension effect when applied in an intra-articular fashion.