Do Not Hallow until You Are out of the Wood! Ultrasonographic Detection of CPP Crystal Deposits in Menisci: Facts and Pitfalls

Figure 3

Medial meniscus of a subject with advanced osteoarthritis of the medial compartment of the knee. In this case we can observe parameniscal fluid collection (asterisk), osteophytes of both the femur and tibia, advanced meniscus degeneration with loss of the typical triangular shape of the meniscus (thin white line), and marked inhomogeneity of the US structure. In the meniscus we can observe thin linear hyperechogenic deposits (arrowheads) that could be due to CPPD deposits. In this case only a part of the medial meniscus could be adequately visualized, with the risk of missing other, more characteristic, deposits that could facilitate diagnosis. CPPD crystals were present in this meniscus, but we were not able to define whether these lines were due to CPPD crystals or not.