Marching cleft sign (meniscus)
Last revised by Andrew Murphy on 1 Feb 2021
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Chmiel-Nowak M, Murphy A, Knipe H, Marching cleft sign (meniscus). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 04 Dec 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-74852
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rID:
74852
Article created:
6 Mar 2020, Magdalena Chmiel-Nowak
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Magdalena Chmiel-Nowak had no recorded disclosures.
View Magdalena Chmiel-Nowak's current disclosuresLast revised:
1 Feb 2021, Andrew Murphy ◉
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Andrew Murphy had no recorded disclosures.
View Andrew Murphy's current disclosuresRevisions:
4 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures
Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Marching cleft
The marching cleft sign is a finding on sagittal MR images, which is useful in characterizing the configuration of meniscal tears. It is present when a meniscal tear is oriented obliquely in relation to both coronal and sagittal plane, which results in the tear cleft moving towards or away from the free meniscal edge on consecutive sagittal images. It can be seen:
- radial tears located at the junction of the body and horn (most often posterior horn)
- parrot beak tear (oblique radial tear)
References
- 1. Nguyen JC, De Smet AA, Graf BK et-al. MR imaging-based diagnosis and classification of meniscal tears. Radiographics. 2014;34 (4): 981-99. doi:10.1148/rg.344125202 - Pubmed citation
- 2. Keith W. Harper, Clyde A. Helms, H. Stanley Lambert, III, Laurence D. Higgins. Radial Meniscal Tears: Significance, Incidence, and MR Appearance. (2012) American Journal of Roentgenology. 185 (6): 1429-34. doi:10.2214/AJR.04.1024 - Pubmed
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